A 



IN 

SPAIN, 

IN THE SPRING OF 1809 ; 

¥ROM LISBON, THROUGH THE WESTERN SKIRTS OF THE SIERRA 
MORENA, TO SEVILLA, CORDOBA, GRANADA, MALAGA . 
AND GIBRALTAR ; AND THENCE TO TETUAX 
AND TANGIERS. 

WITH PLATES, 

Containing 24 Figures illustrative of the Costume and Manners of 
the Inhabitants of several of the Spanish Proviuces. 

i 

BY ROBERT SEMPLE, 

jluihor of Observations on a Journey through Spain and Italy to 
Naples, and thence to Smyrna and Constantinople., in 1805; A 
Sketch of the Present State of Caracas, $c. 



THE SECOND EDITION, 

Xonbon : 

PRINTED FOR ROBERT BALDWIN, 47, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 



1812. 




£. irifiVd «vir» 5 Printer, 
New Brieve Street, London 



THE CONTENTS. 



• . i . : . ©J ;. ..Page, 
Preface . ...» . 5 

Plates and Descriptions illustrative of the Cos- 
tume of the inhabitants of several of the 
Spanish Provinces 9 



CHAP. I. 

Voyage to Lisbon, — Lisbon.— Portuguese Volun- 
teers 17 

chap, ii. 

Route from Aldea Gallega to Elvas, Badajoz, 
and through the Sierra Morena to Sevilla. . . 35 

CHAP. III. 

On the Merino Sheep, and the Mesta.. ...... Ci 



CHAP. IV. 

Sevilla. Its antiqtdty — situation — walls and 
gates — streets — cathedral — Giralda — Alca- 
zar — Alamedas — river Guadalquivir. De- 
parture from Sevilla * 16 

CHAP. V. 



Route from Sevilla, through Ervizo, Carmona, 
La Campana, Posadas, and by Almodovar, to 
Cordoba 105 

CHAP. VI. 

Cordoba. Its situation — antiquity — bridge — 
cathedral — views from the old tower. Old 
Cordoba. Saint Raphael — Roman conduits 

and inscriptions. Spanish soldiery 129 

a 2 



THE CONTENTS 



CHAP. VII. 

Route through Castro, Baena, Alcaudef.e, Al- 
cala la Real, and Pinos de la Puente, to Gra- 
nada 149 



CHAP. VIII. 

Granada. Its extent — cathedral — inquisition — 
Carthusian convent — Plaza de los Toros — Al- 
hamlra — Generalife— French prisoners — pa- 
triotism of the inhabitants, and superstition . . 1 69 



CHAP. IX. 

Ascent to the Sierra Nevada , 198 

CHAP. X. 

Route from Granada, through Alhama and 
Velez, to Malaga — Malaga— and passage to 
Gibraltar . ..." 213 



CHAP. XI. 

Passage across the Straits. Ceuta. Tetuan : — 
its situation — f inhabitants - — Jews — sur- 
rounding country — departure . . . , j|29 

CHAP. XII. 

Route to Tangier s. —^-Moorish village. — Pitch 
our tent.- — Apes Hill. -^-Tangier s. — Ruins of 
the English Mole.—Tarifa, Gibraltar .... 258 

CHAP. XIII. 
Gibraltar. — Cadiz.-~Conclumn , ... 27 5 



PREFACE. 



The interest which within these two years 
has been powerfully excited in the cause of 
Spain, renders every thing relating to that 
country more or less worthy of attention. 
Men of widely different professions have 
been attracted thither by curiosity, or Galled 
by duty ; and clergymen and soldiers have 
given to the public their ideas of passing 
events or existing circumstances there. As 
a commercial man, I again venture to publish 
mine, on that small but interesting portion 
through which I had lately occasion to pass. 

The route traced in the following pages 
includes Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada, 
three of the most important towns in the 
south-western angle of the peninsula ; and 
which, whilst any traces of them remain, can 
never fail to attract attention, from the sin- 



6 



PREFACE. 



gular mixture which they present of Roman, 
Gothic, and Moorish remains. At the sight 
of these monuments the imagination is for- 
cibly carried back to periods of great anti- 
quity, and we see as it were before our eyes 
the successive triumphs of one nation over 
another, and of time over them all. The 
mountain waves, which chase each other with 
mighty roarings on the sea shore, and then 
vanish for ever, scarcely present us with more 
striking instances of instability. 

I have not attempted, nor shall I. ever 
attempt, to give the minute measurement of 
columns and towers, or the exact catalogues 
of pictures and statues. Should the Reader, 
therefore, suppose that I have no relish or 
taste for the beauties of architecture, paint- 
ing, or sculpture, he would do me an injustice* 
But my wish is to collect in my own mind 
the generai impressions made upon me by 
interesting objects, and to convey these im- 
pressions to others. How far I may have 
succeeded is not for me to determine ; yet I 

trust the candid Reader will allow that I have 

* 



PREFACE. 7 

on all pccasions avoided as much as possible 
prolixity and needless amplification. Had I 
been ambitious of making a large book, the 
following pages might with ease have been 
extended to double their present number. 
But other pursuits, which I must again offer 
as an apology for my defects in arrangement 
or style, have, perhaps fortunately, prevented 
a fault greater than them all. A great book* 
£ays the Grecian Sage, is a great evil. 

Upon the whole, I cannot but indulge the 
hope that the favour shewn by the Public to 
my former two volumes on Spain, may also 
in some degree be extended to the present, 
I have had more leisure to collect and arrange 
my ideas than before ; the portion of country 
through which I passed contains many objects 
of great natural and political interest ; and 
should I therefore have fallen short of my 
former endeavours, I must allow the fault to 
be entirely my own. 

The Plates are exact representations of the 

Spanish costume in different provinces, and 

in general strikingly characteristic, not 
m 

6 



8 PREFACE. 

only of the dress, but also of the features, of 
the various peasantry of Spain. They are 
selections from upwards of a hundred figures 
in my possession ; and, I will venture to 
assert, are calculated to give a more correct 
idea of the Spanish costume than any of a 
similar nature which have yet appeared in this 
country. The small additional expense occa- 
sioned by these Plates will, I trust, be fully 
compensated by the interest which they afford. 
Although not immediately connected with 
the work, they cannot perhaps be regarded as 
inconsistent with the general design of this 
little work, to furnish, as far as it goes, a 
few sketches of the manners and customs of 
the Peninsula. 

ROBERT SEMPLE, 



London, Dec. 2, 1809. 



B fUod&h bowl l&Ti iofI nl .bfoo'otlJ temp« 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES, 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE COSTUME AND MANN BUS 
OF THE INHABITANTS OF SEVERAL OF THE 
SPANISH PROVINCES. 



Madrid. 
N° 1. 

A Beau, somewhat above the lower orders, upon the 
Prado. The ribbons in his hair ; his embroidered jacket; 
and his Capote, thrown loosely over his left shoulder ; 
shew that he is going to some public spectacle ; most 
probably to the Bull-fights. 

N° 2. 

A Lady dressed for the Prado. Her mantilla serves 
at once as a cloak, and, if necessary, as a veil. The 
bunches of ribbons at each end shew her to be some* 
what of a coquette. 

N° 3. 

A Man of the middling class, with his capa, or cloak. 
It is thus that this indispensable article of Spanish dress 
is generally worn in cold weather, wrapped round the 
body, and thrown over the left shoulder. 

b 



10 



MADRID. 



N° 4. 

This Female Figure is arrayed in h£r winter mantilla, 
which is wrapped close round the face as a protection 
against the cold. In her right hand she holds the fan, 
without which no Spanish Lady ever appears in public : 
it is the sceptre of her power: to flourish it, to open 
and shut it with a smart and graceful motion,. are ac- 
complishments absolutely indispensable. 



N 



We behold here a different object. An honest Seller 
of Oil ; which he carries about in a skin at his back, 
and retails to his customers. On the ground stands a 
small tin pot, of the shape universally made use of in 
families for holding oil in small quantities. 



N° 6. 

As a companion to the former, we have here a Water- 
Seller. He carries the water in a porous jar, at his 
back; and in his hand a small frame, in which are two 
or three glass tumblers : he assures you that the water 
is cool, and fresh from the favourite fountain of the 
Prado ; and bringing the jar forward under his arm, by 
an inclination of his body he rinces the glass thoroughly, 
and for a trifle presents it to you full. 



MADRID.— -MURCIA. li 

N° 7 and 8. 

Contrasted with the two former figures, we have here 
the light Bolero Dancers. The Man is preparing to 
spring, and at the same time to snap his castanets, so as 
to produce a sound exactly corresponding to his mo* 
tions. The Female, on the contrary, is coming down 
the dance, and endeavours, by her graceful attitudes, 
by the movements of her arms, and by her smiles, to 
divide with her companion the applause which is about 
to burst forth from the audience. The exertions of the 
Bolero Dancers are short, but violent. 

N° 9. 

To the observer of human nature, Madrid used to be 
chiefly interesting on account of the great diversity of 
provincial dresses and manners which it contained. Being 
isolated, as it were in the centre of the kingdom, the 
peasantry of the provinces, who resorted to it, had not 
to pass through those gradual and intermediate changes, 
all tending to ^me point, which have so great an elfect 
in communicating by degrees the ^urbanity of a metro- 
polis to the remotest corners of an empire. They came, 
they remained* they departed as strangers ; bringing 
with them their own manners, and returning to their 
mountains unaltered. The ninth figure represents a 
Peasant from the Province of Murcia. His plaid, ex- 
actly resembling in form and use that worn by the 
Scottish Highlander, hangs upon his left shoulder. It 
is generally made of woollen, but sometimes of cotton ; 
and among the higher orders, of silk ; and is adorned by 
several coloured stripes in the centre, and at the ex- 
tremities, which last are fringed. In his right hand he 
holds a long goad, with which he drives his oxen, whe- 
ther on the road or in the plough. The sandals on his 
feet are generally made of strong and coarse canvass, 
and fastened round his ankles by thongs. These sandals 
are also universally worn by the peasantry in the Pro- 
vince of Granada. 

b % 



19 



ARRAGOK. — CATALOSIA. 



X 6 10. 

Behold a Peasant of Arragon ! Tall, robust, and well- 
formed, he preserves the free and open air which dis- 
tinguishes him among all the Spanish peasantry. A slight 
degree of haughtiness should however be added to that 
brow. Like the ancient Scottish Highlander, his limbs 
are free and unincumbered by dress, and he carries on 
his left shoulder a large hoe, the principal instrument 
used in cultivating the vineyards, or the uneven sides of 
the hills. Were these peasants led on by men worthy 
to command, every village of Arragon would rival Za- 
ragoza, 

N° 11. 

The wife of this Arragonese peasant appears to pos- 
sess equal patience and hardihood with himself. She 
balances on her head a large jar of water, carrying at 
the same time one in each hand. Her hair rolled up, 
and ornamented with a bodkin, recalls to the traveller 
the head-dress of the females of Malabar, or of th^ 
Malay. 

N° 12. 

It is not solely the Peasant of Catalonia who pours in 
this manner the wine down his throat; it is a common 
custom in various parts of Spain. Mothers may be seen 
thus giving drink to very young children. They pre- 
tend that thirst is thus more easily slackened* and that 
the liquor falling upon the tongue and the throat pro- 
duces greater and more pleasing excitement then when 
drank in the more usual manner. It is evident from the 
countenance of this peasant, and from his mattock 
which he has laid aside, that his daily labour is finished, 
and that it is not water which falls into his mouth in so 
small a stream. 

5 



ANDALUSIA- 



IS 



N° 13, 

1 recognise in this figure one of my three friends 
who met me near the gates of Cordoba. By turns 
Smuggler and Robber, he eludes or defies pursuit, in 
proportion to the number of his associates. His blun- 
derbuss is crammed with balls, and two pistols are stuck 
in his girdle, which also contains small pouches for his 
ammunition, his money, and the flint and steel for strik- 
ing a light. In his mouth is a cigar, the greatest luxury 
of the Spanish peasant, or rather of the Spaniards of 
every class. Being frequently exposed to danger, and 
accustomed to traversing mountains and forests in the 
dead of night, these men acquire habits of the most 
hardy kind, aud sometimes assemble in such numbers, 
as for a short time to set the civil power at defiance. 

N° 14. 

The air of this Woman, her attitude, her dress, 
announce the wife, or the mistress, of the Smuggler, 
She requires no comment. 

N° 15. 

In former days this was the Hero of the Bull-%hts» 
In his left hand he grasps the cloak with which he 
deceived, the sword with which he pierced the noble 
animal which lies dead behind him. He points 
towards it with his right hand, and demands the 
applauses of the spectators. The countenance, the air, 
the dress, of this figure, are all truly Andalusian. 



n 



CADIZ* 



N° 16. 

This is a Cavalier, armed for encountering the bull, 
and ordering his horse to be brought out to him. His 
limbs are in a manner swathed and stuffed round with 
various articles, both to resist the bonis of the bull, and 
also that in case of his horse being overthrown, he may 
escape being crushed. The lance which he grasps in his 
left hand appears more proper to wound and to irritate 
than to kill his fierce antagonist. 

W 17. 

We beheld here a Spanish Belle, as she appears fully 
dressed upon the ramparts of Cadiz. The place of her 
mantilla is supplied by a slight lace veil, and by a large 
French shawl, which is now of course no longer the 
mode. The women of Cadiz are said to have a smarter 
air and walk than any others in Spain, and this, seems to 
be no unworthy representative of their general air and 
appearance. She is preparing to shut her fan smartly, 
in unison with the movement of her finger, and the 
glance of her eye. 

N° 18. 

This is the exact costume of a Man somewhat above 
the lower orders, dressed in his holiday suit. His silk 
cap, his new mantle, disposed with art so as to display 
his shape, and his ornamented breeches, the position of 
his hands, and his eyes glanced towards a favourite 
object ; shew a young man fully contented with his own 
appearance, and wishing to convey a similar impression 
to others. Were it not for the 9igar in his mouth the 
portrait would be deficient, but that renders it complete. 
Among those of his own class this man will be regarded 
with admiration, or with envy. 



OLD CASTILE. — GRANADA, 15 

N° 19. 

A Carrier, or Muleteer, of the province of Old 
Castile. The slender stick in his belt is all that he uses 
for driving his mules. This dre?s, the greater part of 
which is formed of brown leather, is not peculiar to 
Castile ; it is that of the Spanish muleteers in general* 

N° 20. 

This Peasant Woman is arrayed in her best garments, 
and is ready for the dance. The expression of her 
countenance, and the position of her hands, would 
seem to indicate that she has been waiting for her 
partner, and is making him some reproaches for m> 
tardiness. The sound of the bagpipe and of the casta- 
nets, and the presence of her lover, wiH soon dissipate 
the slight chagrin which is visible on her lips. 

n° m. 

This Muleteer of Malaga carries, like the former, a 
slight stick, which marks his occupation ; but the ge- 
neral decency of his dress evinces the prosperity of a 
commercial town, and the vicinity of an English 
market. Instead of leather, his- jacket and breeches are 
made of English cloth, and his girdle and pouch are 
neatly ornamented. He positively refuses to yield up 
the goods behind him until he has received the price 
which he contends is his due. 



IS 



-Valencia. 



N° 22. 

This Bully of Sevilla seems prepared by his air and 
attitude to resent the slightest insult, or rather to invite 
one. His long rapier, which is more than half con- 
cealed by his cloak, is at the service of any man, for a 
trifling sum of money. He hires himself to shed blood ; 
and many of the cresses which mark the narrow streets 
of Sevilla are trophies of his midnight deeds. 

N° 23. 

We have here a young Peasant of Valencia, in his 
holiday suit, and apparently about to pay a visit to 
his sweetheart, if indeed she be not already near 
him. It is only for a beloved object that these flower* 
can have been arranged with so much care. They 
perhaps mark his occupation to be that of a gardener ; 
nor will they be less acceptable because reared, as 
well as gathered, by his own hand. 

N° 24. 

The costume of this and the preceding figure evi- 
dently partakes of much of that formerly prevalent in 
the Scottish Highlands. The former was the Valencian 
Peasant in his best clothes ; here he is presented to us 
in his working-dress. A tunic and a plaid form his 
only covering, and the latter, when thrown aside, 
leaves him perfectly unincumbered. His pipe, the stem 
of which is formed of a reed, serves still farther to 
distinguish him from the peasantry of most of the other 
provinces, where tobacco is used, either rolled up in 
the leaf, or in paper. We conclude with this figure^ 
which upon the whole is not uninteresting. 



SECOND JOURNEY IN SPAIN, 



CHAP. I. 

Voyage to Lisbon. — Lisbon.— -Portuguese 
Volunteers. 

The great events which in the year 1808 
took place in Spain had in many instances 
entirely altered the relations between this 
country and the Spanish colonies. I was 
anxious to witness the effects produced on 
Cadiz and Sevilla, the two towns formerly 
most interested in the colonial commerce ; 
and hoped that even a rapid survey might 
open to me new views, which I could no 
where else obtain. With this intention I left 
Falmouth on the 2d of January, 1809, in the 
packet for Lisbon. 

We sailed about sun-set with a moderate 
breeze from the north-west, which continued 
all night. At 12 o'clock on the ensuing day 
our favourable wind died away, and soon 
afterwards it came on to blow with consider- 
able freshness from the south-south- west. 

B 



18 VOYAGE TO LISBON. 

The wind continued contrary but moderate 
until the 7 th, when it blew a gale from the 
south-west. We handed all sails one after 
another, and at last lay too under the main 
and mizen stay-sails. The sea was tremen- 
dous. Towards morning a wave broke over 
us, carried away several of our larboard stan- 
chions, and occasioned infinite confusion on 
board. At day-break we struck our top- 
gallant masts, and soon afterwards were pre- 
paring to strike our top-masts, when the gale 
gave symptoms of abating, and in the after- 
noon we were enabled to sway up our top- 
gallant masts, and set our double-reefed 
topsails. 

We thus continued with wind constantly 
contrary, but not violent, until the night of 
the 21st, when it began to blow suddenly and 
violently from the west-south- west, and which 
increased by degrees to a perfect gale, with 
sharp lightning and heavy showers of rain. 
We again struck our top-gallant masts, and 
hove to under our main and mizen stay- 
sails until the ensuing mid-day, when it be- 
came more moderate. 

Towards sun-set on the 23d we made the 
land on the coast of Portugal, between 
Aveiro and Cape Mondego. The coast here 



Voyage to Lisbon* 



19 



appeared of considerable height. When 
about four leagues off shore we sounded and 
found bottom at seventy-five fathoms, and 
continuing to run on and sounding twice 
afterwards, we found bottom at fifty, and lastly 
at thirty fathoms. On the afternoon of the 
25th we made Cape Fisseraon, at day-break 
on the 26th saw the Burlings a- head, and on 
the ensuing day the Rock of Lisbon. 

On the 28th at day-break a fishing-boat 
came alongside, out of which we took a 
pilot. Nearly a month had elapsed since our 
leaving England, and from the state in which 
affairs were then understood to be in Spain, 
our anxiety to know the fate of the English 
army under General Moore was very great. 
The information which we derived from our 
Pilot was however very unsatisfactory. Some 
of the English troops had marched towards 
the frontiers, others were embarked and 
ready to sail. The French had at one time 
obtained possession of all Gallicia, but they 
had been afterwards driven out by the Spa- 
niards and Portuguese. Two things however 
were certain : the English merchants at Lis- 
bon were embarking tHeir property, and the 
, inhabitants were all armed or arming. From 
these circumstances, we drew no favourable 

M 2 



20 



VOYAGE TO LISBON, 



augury, and passed the day in a variety of con- 
jectures. 

It was not until the morning of the 29th 
that we entered the Tagus, passing close to 
the sands, which lie at its mouth, and on 
which the waves almost constantly break 
with great violence. The Portuguese flag 
was again waving on Fort St. Julien. As we 
sailed up the Tagus we passed a great number 
of transports riding at single anchor, and full 
of troops. This did not promise well, and 
before we went on shore nine passengers had 
already come on board, and with great eager- 
ness secured their passage for England in the 
packet. 

At mid-day I found myself once more on 
shore on the Southern Peninsula of Europe. 
It was Sunday ; formerly in Lisbon the most 
festive day of the week, but all now was dull 
and comparatively silent. I repaired to the 
same inn where I had before lodged ; but the 
former master of it, amidst the various changes 
of parties, had been obliged to make his 
escape, and it was now possessed by a stranger, 
who, aware of the precariousness of his tenure, 
durst venture into few expences. The house 
was consequently cold and cheerless ; and a 
week's residence at Lisbon only tended to 



LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 21 

confirm me how much this was the general 
case. 

With regard to the British merchants of 
Lisbon, the full extent of the misfortunes 
in Gallicia was not yet known ; but it was 
understood that our army there had retreated ; 
that the French cavalry and light troops were 
making incursions nearly to the borders of 
Portugal, and had even penetrated, it was said, 
as far as Oporto. The paper money of the 
Government was at a depreciation of thirty 
per cent, whilst the general eagerness to trans- 
fer property to England, occasioned bills on 
that country to bear a high premium. Every 
Englishman was well aware that in case of 
the French entering Lisbon, his property 
would be the first object of search and confis- 
cation, and that even his peaceful and mer- 
cantile pursuits might not suffice to protect 
his person from imprisonment. The doubts, 
the suspense, the alarm, the confusion which 
prevailed, may therefore be well imagined. 
Whilst such was the state of the English 
residents, the native inhabitants presented a 
different and more interesting spectacle. 
Equally in suspense, equally in confusion^ 
equally anxious after every fresh whisper of 
intelligence, they were yet chained to the 



2$ LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 

spot by insurmountable ties, and obliged to 
wait at their post the issue of the contest. 
Hence a strange mixture of passions. Rage 
against the French who were advancing; rage 
against the English who were preparing to 
abandon them. The first was open and 
avowed ; the second secret and concealed, but 
only waiting the last moment of embarkation 
to have displayed itself in all its madness. The 
conflict of contending passions ended in a 
burst of patriotism. When it could no 
longer be concealed that the English and 
Spanish armies in Gallicia were retreating; 
when it became evident that the English 
force in Lisbon was making every preparation 
to embark at the shortest notice ; and that 
those regiments which had marched towards 
the frontiers were rapidly retreating without 
having seen an enemy ; then the Govern- 
ment made an animated appeal to the people, 
reminded them of the former glory of the 
Portuguese name, and called upon them to 
assert it. The enthusiasm created by such 
appeals, and by necessity, was very great ; but 
had the French advanced, it would in my 
opinion have proved less fatal to them than 
to the stragglers of the English rear-guard. 
Happily this wao not put to the test. The 
3 



LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 23 

streets, the squares, the quays, were lined 
with ranks of volunteers, whose arms, equip- 
ment, and movements, were most various and 
whimsical. The greater proportion carried 
pikes ; some were armed with fowling-pieces, 
some with bayonets screwed on poles, some with 
small-swords, with daggers, with pistols, or with 
a single pistol. Here and there in the ranks 
were seen halberds and pikes of curious and 
ancient workmanship, which had probably 
been wielded in the wars of the fifteenth cen- 
tury, and after long lying in dust and dark- 
ness, were now dragged forth to light. The 
assortment of the men was as various as their 
arms. The tali and the short, the lean and 
the corpulent, the old man and the stripling, 
stood side by side. At the word of command, 
some turned to the right and others to the 
left, some parts of the line advanced whilst 
others remained stationary. In short, every 
thing was ridiculous, except their cause, and 
that was most sacred. 

It is only necessary once to see these or 
similar levies, to be impressed with the folly of 
attempting to defend a country with them 
against a regular force. In a town or a pass 
they may be of great service ; but in the pre- 
sent state of military science, a State which 
trusts to them in any great degree for her 



24 LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOtUNTEEES* 

safety, when the hour of danger approaches, 
will inevitably be lost. The sure and hard 
test of good troops is the bayonet : how 
then can it be expected that new levies of 
citizens should stand this test, at the very- 
first time of their seeing an enemy ? and 
stand it they must, seeing that they have no 
other arms but those of hand to hand, a pike, 
or a halberd, or a sword. 

But the mob of Lisbon was armed, and 
determined to shew that it was so. Every 
night, at least one Frenchman, or one sus- 
pected to be so, was discovered and dragged 
to prison, where generally his dead body alone 
arrived. I myself was witness to an English- 
man being murdered in this manner, and 
strove in vain to save his life. An ^English- 
man ! you exclaim. Yes, Reader, an Eng- 
lishman. It was on a Sunday evening, and I 
w^s proceeding up the principal street, when 
having advanced a little beyond the head- 
quarters of the English General, I heard the 
shoutings of a great mob. They drew nearer, 
and I presently found myself enveloped in a 
furious crowd, dragging along a poor wretch 
in the English dress; his countenance dis- 
figured with blood, and hardly able to stagger 
along from the blows which he had received^ 



LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 25 

I demanded his crime. They told me he was 
a Frenchman : but an English Officer who 
was in the crowd exclaimed, that it was his 
servant, and endeavoured to reason with some 
who appeared as leaders of the mob. At this 
intelligence I made my utmost efforts to get 
near the unfortunate man, and just arrived in 
time to seize with both my hands a pike, 
which some brave Portuguese from behind 
was endeavouring to thrust into his back, I 
called out to the Officer to assist me. He 
replied, it was the positive order of the Ge- 
neral, that in all such cases no Englishman 
should interfere, and advised me to take care 
of my own life. I was in the midst of pikes f 
swords, and daggers, which seemed to be 
thrust about in all directions, as if through 
madness or intoxication. In spite of all my 
struggles, I was thrown down and nearly 
trampled upon by the mob, and at length 
with difficulty escaped from amongst them. 
Next morning I was informed that the poor 
wretch had been murdered in the course of 
the night. And this passed within owe hun- 
dred yards of the English head-quarters ! 

Because they were armed, and the enemy 
was not at their gates, the Portuguese already 
began to utter rhodomontades. Every man 



2?6 LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 

finding a weapon in his hands, perhaps for 
the first time, performed with it a thousand 
deeds of heroism. But not merely what they 
were going to do, what they had already done 
against the common enemies of Europe, was 
the topic of their dicourses. They had 
gained (in conjunction with their English 
allies) the battle of Vimeira. It was a Por- 
tuguese soldier who made General Brenier 
prisoner, and they had beaten the French at 
Oporto. Lest there should be any doubt of 
these facts, an engraving of the battle of Vi- 
meira, to be found in every shop, represented 
the dreadful Portuguese dragoons charging 
the enemy, and bearing away at least one half 
of the palm of victory. I know not which 
was the greater hardship upon the brave army 
which gained that battle, to be stopped in 
the career of victory, or to be.carricatured by 
such associates ! 

The enthusiasm of soldiers was communi- 
cated to the children of Lisbon. Boyish 
squads, with paper flags, and wooden guns, 
amused themselves in every street. They 
displayed an interesting picture of the facility 
with which the rising generation catches, with 
increased ardour, the predominant spirit of 
that which immediately precedes it. They 



LISBON". PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 27 

broke, they formed, they charged, they 
turned to the right and left, under their puny 
officers, and imitated with fidelity, as an 
amusement, what they saw daily practised as 
a serious occupation. But perhaps the no- 
velty of the occupation to their fathers, was 
the cause of their embracing it with such 
ardour : the children of soldiers seldom play 
at soldiers. 

In the streets, if the people assembled, it 
was not to witness a rude fandango, or listen 
to ancient airs upon the Celtic bagpipe* The 
news of the day, more changeable than the 
passing breeze, or a national song full of 
Portuguese honour and of French cowardice, 
collected the crowd into various parties. 
Arms of every description were the great 
objects of sale. At every stall, heaps of 
pistol and musket bullets, newly cast, were 
piled up, together with flints, ramrods, ham* 
mers, screws, and old rusty arms, which, but 
for the present crisis, would never more have 
been called into use. 

Unlike the Spaniards in the generality of 
thein towns (except Cadiz), where plays 
were suppressed at the commencement of the 
revolution, Lisbon still maintained its theatre. 
The former^sent their players, their jugglers^ 



28 LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS* 

their dancers, and their buffoons, to the 
army ; but the latter, although their Prince 
had been driven into exile, never even 
thought of passing such a decree. But the 
representations were very different from those 
of former times. Instead of a crowded house, 
I found only a dull and scanty assembly ; 
. and on the boards where Catalani used to 
charm, an indecent fandango was danced by 
two old characters, ill suited to the circum- 
stances of the times. The ear, in recom- 
pense, was deafened by patriotic songs. The 
name of their enemy afforded an endless 
source of wit. He was c bono tirano/ but 
c mala parte.' The humour was doubtless 
exquisite — but the French, notwithstanding, 
were on the borders of Portugal. 

The English have supported a Regency 
odious to the people, and have lost more by 
that, and the convention of Cintra, than they 
gained at Vimeira. The French are attack- 
ing, in all directions, old and corrupted esta- 
blishments, ready to fall by their own weight. 
We fly to prop them up with the whole of 
England's strength. The natural consequence 
is, that the people of most countries execrate 
the French, but find it hard to condemn many 
of their measures; while, on the contrary* 



LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 2Q 

the English are very generally beloved, and 
their measures execrated. The former Go- 
vernment of Portugal, of which the present 
Regency is the representative, was a very bad 
one. Its oppressions and its ignorance were 
alike notorious. Yet we have linked our- 
selves to this Government, and not to the 
people. We make no appeals, as it were, 
directly from nation to nation. All that we 
say comes to the people through the medium 
of magistrates, not beloved, nor respected far- 
ther than that they hold an arbitrary power in 
their hands. 

It was the beginning of February before 
the fate of General Moore was known with: 
any certainty at Lisbon, so miserable was the 
want of intelligence. No chain of posts had 
been established ; not one even of the com- 
mon precautions for procuring information 
had been taken. At length., after weeks of 
ignorance and suspense, the Nautilus sloop 
of war had been despatched to Corunna for 
intelligence ; but a fortnight was elapsed and 
she had not yet returned. There could now, 
however, no longer remain a doubt that 
General Moore had fallen, and that the army 
under him had embarked. The English 
regiments which had been sent to the fron- 



30 LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS* 

tiers were returning by forced marches. No 
decided plan, however, seemed yet to have 
been adopted. To-day the cavalry was em- 
barked ; to-morrow it was ordered to land. 
But these were only partial movements, the 
great body of the English force remained 
stationary at Lisbon. 

It may perhaps appear strange to some, 
that fourteen thousand brave troops should be 
transported across the sea at an immense 
expense, merely to garrison Lisbon. Was 
the object to defend this town after all the 
rest of Portugal should be subdued, and ren- 
der it another Zaragosa ? No ; for the Tagus 
was full of transports, and the troops held in 
constant readiness to embark. Was it to 
encourage the people to resistance ? The in- 
tention of abandoning them on the first ap- 
proach of the enemy in force, was too well 
known. But supposing either or both of 
these purposes to be intended, would it not 
have been better to have advanced the 
whole of the British force along the Tagus, 
till nearly where it becomes fordable. The 
right flank of the army would thus have been 
in perfect security, and a position might have 
been taken to defend the peninsula" of Portu- 
guese Estremadura. Lisbon would have 



LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 31 

been protected, and thj Portuguese encou- 
raged. 

As one of the preparations for retreat, the 
English had already embarked upwards of 
five hundred women attached to their army. 
The whole French force under General Ju- 
not, when embarked, had scarcely two hun- 
dred. The comparison is certainly not in 
favour of the former. 

The French, when in Lisbon, enforced a 
strict police. They cleared the streets of an 
infinite number of dogs which used to infest 
them, and obliged the inhabitants to remove 
the immense heaps of filth, which in many 
places had been years in accumulating. But 
these wholesome regulations were now no 
longer observed. The number of dogs was 
beginning to increase, the fikh was every 
where collecting again ; and all night long the 
continual splashing of the discharges from 
garret windows sounded through the streets, 
and annoyed the passengers. These unsa- 
voury showers, it is true> were generally 
accompanied by the melodious cries of 
<c Agua va !" but the shock very often pre- 
ceded the notice, which seemed to have been 
given only in derision. 

After many delays from the confusion of 



32 LISBON. POKTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS 

the public offices, I at length procured my 
passports to go by post to Sevilla. I was 
strongly dissuaded by the clerks of the Eng- 
lish Ambassador from proceeding in that 
direction, which was represented as very 
hazardous* They told me they could not 
answer for the disposition even of the Portu- 
guese. Trusting more, however, to my own 
ideas of the state of the country, than to the 
ignorant fears entertained at Lisbon, I pre- 
pared to quit this metropolis. I cast upon it 
a last look. I beheld a people armed, but 
without chiefs possessed of any science ; suf- 
ficiently enthusiastic while the enemy is at a 
distance, but affording no grounds to the cool 
observer to expect a brave resistance when he 
approaches. The tumult and the ferocity of 
a mob against unarmed individuals, can only 
lead to cowardice in the field against a disci- 
plined foe. I beheld a Government, hated, 
yet implicitly obeyed ; and this was to 
me a kind of clue to the national character, 
where the hereditary rights of tyrannising in 
the great, and long habits of servitude in the 
multitude, compose the principal traits. 
But the people are awakened ; they are ap- 
pealed to ; they are armed ! and habits of 
freedom will by degrees arise among them. 



LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS!. 33 



~Never. This population,- with all its old 
rites, its superstitions, and its prejudices of 
three centuries, is in its decrepitude. To pro- 
duce any good, the whole race of Lisbon must 
be renewed. Their present enthusiasm, pro- 
duced by the pressure and the concurrence of 
wonderful circumstances, proves to me no- 
thing. When the day is warm in spring, when 
the leaves bud and the birds sing, we wonder 
not to see a smile on the cheek of old age : 
but from that smile to draw a thousand fond 
inferences, to dream of future years of activity 
and exertion exceeding the past, would be 
childish in the extreme. Let us not deceive 
ourselves : should the Portuguese nation 
perform in Europe deeds even equal to any 
recorded in its history since the days of Vi- 
riatus, these deeds would not equal the ro- 
mantic ideas which England is forming of 
them ! 

Such are the impressions produced by a 
view of the population of the Metropolis and 
its environs. But a very different race of 
men exists in the Northern Provinces. They 
are the real descendants of the ancient Lusi- 
tanians, and possess all the best qualities 
which characterize the peasantry of the 
Peninsula. When we have opportunities of 

c 



34 LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS, 



comparing them with those who inhabit the 
shores of the mouth of the Tagus, we are 
compelled in our own minds to assign to 
them an entirely different origin.* 

* The events which have taken place since these ob- 
servations were first written will not by a reflecting mind 
be considered as proving their fallacy. Besides that I 
talk only of the population of Lisbon, and of the country 
between it and Badajoz, it is to England that we must 
atrribute all the great occurrences which have since so 
changed the state of affairs in this country. If France 
marshals the peasants of the Danube or the Rhine, and 
gains victories in the Peninsula by their means, we say, 
and with justice, that the French have beaten the Spani- 
ards. If England should gain victories by Sepoys in 
India, or Lusitanian peasants in Portugal, it is still 
England which would be entitled to all the merit, as in 
case of mischance she would bear all the disgrace. 



ftOUTE TO SEVILLA 



35 



CHAR IL 

Route from Al&ea Gallega to Elvas, Ba- 
dajozy and through the Sierra Morena to 
S evil la. 

On the 5 th of February I crossed the 
Tagus, with a fine breeze, to Aldea Gallega. 
An English saddle, behind which my cloak 
was rolled up, with holsters and pistols, were 
for my own horse ; a leathern trunk for my 
guide contained all my luggage. In two 
hours I found myself once more on the 
southern bank of the Tagus, in Aldea Gallega, 
When I viewed this formerly, as the first 
place which I had seen in Portugal, except 
Lisbon, I could not but consider it as a mi- 
serable hamlet. I now, however, regarded it 
as a place of about two hundred houses, and 
as of some relative importance. The first 
sight which struck me on landing was a band 
of about one hundred pikemen marching in 
column, and a most reverend friar armed 
with a musket in line with the front file. 

c 2 



36 KOUTE TO SEVXLLA* 

Having never before seen a friar so well em- 
ployed, I could not but consider this as a 
good symptom. But at the rear of this 
column I soon found myself among real 
soldiers. An English regiment returning 
from the frontiers was then seeking quarters, 
and the streets were full of Englishmen. I 
was not, however, long detained. In half an 
hour my horse and my guide were ready, 
and I took the high road to Badajoz. 

Having before performed this journey, I 
determined to press on to the frontiers of 
Spain as speedily as possible, and atone for my 
time lost at Lisbon. Immediately from the 
streets of Aldea Gallega we enter upon a 
sandy plain, which however for two leagues 
is covered with small pines, now in full green, 
and affording a delightful contrast to the sand 
in which they grow. On the summit of a 
ridge of hills to the right we behold the 
town of Palmero, romantically situated, and 
apparently a place of strength,, or capable of 
being easily rendered so. On the opposite 
base of this ridge lies St. Ubes. After leav- 
ing this wood of pines, the remaining three 
leagues to Los Pregones is through aji open 
but uneven country, where sand every where 
predominates. It was dark before we arrived 



AHRAYOLOS 



37 



at Los Pregones, a group of three or four 
miserable houses, and where the sight of an 
Englishman travelling post already began to 
excite some curiosity. 

Fi;om Los Pregones four leagues bring us 
to the small hamlet of Las Ventas Nuevas^ 
which is another post. Although it was now 
eleven o*clock, and raining hard, yet being 
moon-light, I determined to go on three 
leagues farther to Montemor Novo, where I 
arrived about two in the morning. As they 
procured me an excellent horse, and the 
roads were not yet much broken up by the 
rain, I availed myself of the moon-light, 
and riding the remainder of the night 5 
reached Arrayolos, another stage of three 
leagues, about day-break. In the hurry of 
travelling, I had before considered Arrayolos 
as little more than a post-house ; I now 
found it to be a considerable village, or even 
a small town, with two churches, and the 
ruins of an old castle on a hill to the left. 
Within the circuit of the old walls, a modern 
house seemed placed, as if built by the suc- 
cessor of the former feudal proprietors to 
assert his claim to the rights doubtless at- 
tached to it. Here being detained some 
hours for want of horses, I procured a break- 



38 



ESTREMOZ 



fast of coffee and bread at a small shop which 
was pointed out to me. A great number of 
questions were put to me respecting the state 
of affairs, but in general they were trifling, 
and evincing little interest on the part of the 
people in what was going on around them. 

From Arrayolos three leagues brought 
me, about mid-day, to Venta del Duque, a 
single post-house on the summit of a hill, and 
in the midst of a wild and wooded country. 
This post-house stands out of the main road, 
towards which we again descended through 
some fields and plantations of olive. On a 
hill to the south stands the town of Egre- 
monte, presenting a romantic appearance, 
and surrounded by ancient walls and towers. 

From Venta del Duque to Estremoz the 
distance is three leagues, through a varie- 
gated country, and where the symptoms of 
cultivation continually increase as we ap- 
proach this latter place. Estremoz is plea- 
santly situated on a gently rising ground, and 
surrounded by fortifications which show the 
earlier ages of the improvement of that art. 
The country round the base of this height is 
in general fertile and well cultivated. Here 
I was not long detained, and two short leagues 
brought me to Alcravizas, a single post- 



ELVAS 



39 



house, but which, from the excellent horses 
which were there procured, gave signs of 
approach to the Spanish territory. It was 
dark before I reached Elvas, four leagues 
farther, and the gates were already shut. 
Many were the parleys, many the messages, 
the intercessions, before the gates of this for- 
midable fortress were opened to admit a soli- 
tary English traveller and his guide. In our 
approach we pass under a noble Moorish 
aqueduct, with lofty rows of arches, which 
clearly evinces the importance formerly at- 
tached by the Moors to this station. In its 
present state Elvas is certainly a fortress of at 
least the second order in Europe, but it is no 
longer connected with the surrounding coun- 
try by those ties which alone render a fortified 
town of any value : against an army in pos- 
session of the rest of Portugal, of w r hat avail 
would the resistance of Elvas be ? Or 
should that enemy possess Elvas alone, how 
small are the advantages to be drawn from it ! 
In former ages, if one power erected a for- 
tress, it was thought quite in the rules of art, 
and incumbent on the neighbouring Power, 
to erect another ; and so on to infinity. In 
conformity with this rule, Elvas and Badajoz 
seem to have been placed in opposition to 



40 



ROUTE TO SEVILLA. 



teach other by Portugal and Spain. The 
view, however, all round the heights of Elvas 
is delightful, being chiefly oyer an immense 
and fertile plain, bordered here and there by 
detached chains of secondary mountains, 
which appear in the horizon, especially to the 
north and east, like islands at a distance at 
sea. I saw here no enthusiasm, no signs of 
arming, except the common necessary guard 
for their fortifications. Trusting to these, 
the inhabitants seemed plunged into a great 
decree of apathy ; and considering how com- 
pleiely they had lately been kept in check by a 
few hundred German soldiers in the pay of 
France, and from which they were delivered 
only by the battle of Vimiera, it is not a cir- 
cumstance to excite our astonishment. 

I left Elvas on the 7th, two hours after 
sun-rise. On looking back it presents from 
every point a grand and imposing aspect, 
being visible till we approach Badajoz. A 
plain of three leagues separates it from this 
latter town ; or rather we begin to find our- 
selves upon the plains of Spanish Estrema- 
dura, which are bounded only by the hori- 
zon, or here and there by groups of moun- 
tains. The Portuguese guard, which formerly 
marked the boundaries of the two kingdoms 



BADAJOZ. 41 

was now removed ; and a hut, occupied by an 
old woman who sold bread, fruit, and wine, 
• more usefully occupied, and marked the 
, station. I crossed the small stream which 
forms the line of demarkation, and once more 
entered Spain, full of a thousand hopes and 
fears as to the state in which I might find it. 
Except the hut above mentioned, there are 
no traces of human habitation between the 
two fortresses, and until we are close upon 
Badajoz, we even look in vain for symptoms 
pf cultivation. 

Badajoz is the Moorish corruption of the 
ancient Latin name of Pax Augusta. It 
stands upon the south-east bank of the 
Guadiana ; and in coming from Elvas we 
cross that river over a fine stone bridge, built 
upon the Roman model. This bridge con- 
sists of twenty-eight circular arches, the 
largest of which, in the middle of the stream, 
appears to be about eighty feet in diameter, 
and the smallest, under which we passed, of 
about twenty feet. The length of the whole 
can hardly be less than six hundred yards, and 
it is entirely paved with hewn stone. The 
breadth is about twenty-four feet, and ac- 
cordingtoan inscription near the centre, it was 
finished under Philip II. in the year i 596. 

3 



42 BADAJOZ. 

To some of the old remains of fortifications 
have been added others in the modern style, 
which render Badajoz capable of a good defence? 
At a little distance above the town, the Evora 
falls into the Guadiana, and greatly increases 
this latter stream. 

Badajoz contains traces of the Romans, 
the Goths, and the Moors, in scattered pil- 
lars, arches, and remains of walls ; but no 
entire building, or even a ruin, which I could 
hear of or discover worthy of notice* The 
cathedral, which is the principal existing 
building, is heavy, and in a very bad style. 

The population of Badajoz is computed at 
about ten thousand souls ; and I was happy 
to observe amongst them the symptoms at 
least, and the apparent spirit of resistance. 
In some parts they were repairing the fortifi- 
cations, in others they were erecting new out- 
works, and completing all round the palisa- 
does, which had before been in a miserable 
state of decay. It was perhaps still more 
pleasing to me to be greeted in the street, 
and saluted with respect as an Englishman ; a 
token of esteem which I had never yet met 
with, or known practised to others, among our 
good allies the Portuguese. I left Badajoz 
in the afternoon of the same day of my arri- 



ROUTE TO SEVILLA. 43 



val. A ride of four leagues through an un- 
interesting country, with scarcely a symptom 
of cultivation, brings us to Albuera, a place 
containing about one hundred and fifty 
houses, mostly very miserable ones, and cor- 
responding with the general appearance of 
the inhabitants. An old church, with a tole- 
rably handsome front, seemed to be the only 
object of the smallest interest. Finding here 
no good houses, and it not being yet dark, I 
proceeded to Santa Marta, another post of 
three leagues, and a place of nearly the same 
extent and the same appearance as Albuera. 
Darkness and heavy rain prevented me from 
observing the last league of this road, but 
before sun-set it was easy to observe, by the 
increasing magnitude of the hills, our ap- 
proach towards the western skirts of the 
Sierra Morena. 

During the whole of this afternoon's ride 
from Badajoz to Santa Marta, I met along 
the road a succession of parties of armed 
men going to join the force collecting at 
Badajoz. They never failed to cheer me with 
repeated cries of "Viva Tlnglaterra," which 
I of course returned with u Viva TEspana." 
At supper I could not but smile at the inge- 
nuity with which I was furnished with thres 



44 



HOUTE TO SEVILLA 



courses : bread chopped up with garlick, 
and dressed like a sallad, except that a great 
quantity of water was put into it, formed the 
first dish ; eggs boiled hard, and dressed 
with oil, garlick, and tomatas, formed the 
second course ; and eggs in the form of an 
omelet concluded the repast. The family 
served me with the utmost attention ; nor 
could I, by any entreaties, prevail upon them 
to eat until I had finished. It rained inces- 
santly throughout the night. 

On the morning of the 8th I left Santa 
Marta ; from which place to Los Santos de 
Maimona is a post of five leagues. The 
country at first consists of small rounded 
hills, but entirely bare, until having pro- 
ceeded about two leagues, we found ourselves 
at the base of the skirts of the Sierra Mo- 
rena, which here begin to rise into rugged 
heights. On the summit of a steep conical 
hill to the right, half way between Santa 
Marta and Maimona, stands the castle of 
Feria, within cannon-shot of the road, and 
lower down behind it is the village of that 
name. The simple peasanty in the neigh- 
bourhood regard this castle as impregnable, 
and as an insuperable obstacle to the progress 
of the French, should they ever penetrate so 



ROUTE TO SEVILLA. 45 

far ; although it does not appear to guard 
any important pass in these mountains, or 
even the high road to any considerable ex- 
tent. About mid-day I reached Los Santos 
de Maimona, by a road which, before enter- 
ing, winds nearly round it. 

The population of this place may be com- 
puted at about twelve hundred souls ; and 
the general appearance of the inhabitants is 
ciiperior to that in any of the villages on the 
high road between it and Badajoz. The 
post-house was remarkably good, and a 
degree of cleanliness prevailed in its interior, 
that might have been noticed even in Eng- 
land. Being announced as an Englishman, 
the door was soon surrounded by wondering 
peasants, while some of the better sort of the 
inhabitant under various pretences, entered 
the house, and having greeted me very cour- 
teously, began to ask a variety of questions. 
As the French had never yet penetrated into 
these mountains, the anxiety of the women 
was very great, to know whether there was 
any probability of their coming to Maimona. 
They were not ignorant of the excesses com- 
mitted in Cordoba and Andujar by the army 
of Dupont ; and fancy painted these excesses 
even in worse colours, if possible, than they 



16 



BOUTE TO SEVILLA. 



had existed. When I assured them that 
England would never forsake their cause so 
long as they remained true to themselves^ 
and gave them at the same time encouraging 
hopes for the future, their joy was hardly to be 
expressed. A general exclamation of " Vi- 
van los Ingleses " burst from the assembly, 
while their eagerness to befriend me was re- 
doubled. I was pressed to take a portion of 
the family puchero ; one took my hat, an- 
other my cloak, a third handed me a chair, 
while a fourth stretched my wet gloves on his 
hands, and held them over the fire. After 
an hour's rest I set off, accompanied by many 
good wishes. From Maimona to Fuente de 
los Cantos the distance is four leagues, and the 
country is in a higher state of cultivation than 
any spot between this and Elvas. On both 
sides of the high road the fields were green 
with rising corn, thickly interpersed with 
olive trees, and the whole presented the 
charming prospect of a rich plain of great 
extent, bordered all round by romantic hills. 
As we approach Fuente de los Cantos, we 
have a clear view of the town of Bienvenida, 
at the distance of about five miles to the 
north-east, apparently a place of considerable 
note, and situated at one extremity of the 



HOUTE TO SEVILLA 



47 



great plain near the gorges of the moun- 
tains, towards Llerena. On this road, I for 
the first time observed a considerable number 
of narrow waggons, with two wheels, and 
drawn by two mules. By means even of these 
clumsy waggons, two mules dragged at least as 
much as six could carry ; yet such is the force 
of hereditary customs, that, together with 
these, I saw droves of mules and asses loaded 
with articles of the same kind, and conducted 
by muleteers. The peasantry in general 
seemed remarkably stout, although not tall, 
and their dress was almost uniformly of a dark 
brown. In four hours I reached Fuente de los 
Cantos, apparently nearly' equal in size .to 
Maimona, and surrounded by cultivated 
fields, and plantations of olive. The curiosity 
of the inhabitants of Fuente seemed even 
stronger if possible than what I had wit- 
nessed at Maimona ; and the lively and " 
handsome appearance of the women was 
particularly striking. Here I found little to 
detain me. It wanted still more than an hour 
of sun-set, and I set off for Monasterio, an- 
other post of three leagues distant. A little 
boy was my guide, and so young that I felt 
him as if placed under my protection. After 
proceeding about a league from Fuente de 



48 KOUTE TO SEVILLAc* 

los Cantos, the country becomes interesting^ 
and gradually increases in interest as we ap- 
proach Monasteries The small, barren, and 
regularly rounded hills, give way to heights 
of various forms, and to chains of lofty 
\ mountains, the summits of which are only at 
intervals perceptible through the driving 
clouds. We begin to discern small woods in 
the hollows on the sheltered slopes of the 
mountains, and on both sides of the road are 
scattered various species of the oak, the elm, 
the cork-tree, and the wild olive. From 
Albuera, or even perhaps from Badajoz, and 
the banks of the Guadiana, we have been 
constantly, but imperceptibly ascending until 
now, when it is evident that we are approach- 
ing towards the highest ridge of the Sierra 
Morena, which, in this direction, we have to 
pass. We make a descent to arrive at Mo- 
nas^erio. I arrived there about an hour after 
sun-set, and for the first time since leaving 
Badajoz was challenged by the guard of the 
place, and asked for my passport. In this, 
however, they were easily satisfied ; and I 
was speedily conducted to the post-house, 
where I again met in every individual the 
same eagerness to oblige an Englishman, 
which I had uniformly observed from the first 



SPANISH PEASANTS 



49 



moment of my crossing the Guadiana. It 
was not a mercenary attention, which flies to 
execute your orders with a prospect to to- 
morrow's gain ; but a grateful eagerness, 
which convinced me more and more how 
deeply the services which England had ren- 
dered to Spain were here imprinted upon 
every bosom. Such are the advantages 
which nations derive from acting on great 
and generous principles. The feelings, not 
only of these peasants, but of the great mass 
of Spanish peasantry, will survive mjny a 
political storm, and remain true to England, 
at a period too distant for us yet to form 
hypotheses upon. The peasantry of all 
countries form the true basis of their 
strength. Their prejudices are strong, ge- 
nerous, and obstinate ; and amid the fall, of 
thrones, and the puerile vacillations of Em- 
perors and Kings, it is at least grateful to 
reflect, that the peasantry of the Peninsula are, 
in these respects, decidedly English. It may, 
perhaps, be said with truth, that England 
alone can destroy these favourable prejudices. 

The family at Monasterio, as usual, supped 
after me ; and I observed with pleasure the 
children repeating their prayers, and kissing 
their hands to their parents before retiring to 

D 



50 M0NASTERI0. PEASANTS. 

bed. This was not the first time that I was 
struck with the many points of resemblance 
between the generality of the Scottish pea- 
sants and those in many parts of Spain. The 
dark caps of the peasants of Sierra Morena, 
the uniformity of their dress, many of their 
dishes, the interior arrangement of their 
houses, the domestic manners of their 
women, their looks, their air, their gravity, 
mixed with a dry humour, and an unfeigned 
spirit of piety, all tend to remind us of many 
of the most prominent features in the cha- 
racter of the Scottish peasantry. I once 
made the same remark to a well-informed 
Spaniard at Madrid, on some of the peasants 
whom I observed to arrive there from various 
provinces. " Undoubtedly," he replied, in 
all the spirit of a true Spaniard, u do you not 
know that we have formerly sent colonies to 
Scotland r" 

Four hundred men of the second batta- 
lion of Cantabria were quartered here. The 
first battalion, they told me, was with the 
army ; and in talking on these subjects, I 
found that an English regiment, the fortieth, 
which had lately passed along this road, on 
its way to Sevilla, was the theme of universal 
admiration. What chiefly excited the asto- 



MONASTERIO. 5l 

nishment, and almost the envy, of the Spa- 
nish recruits, seemed to be the dress and 
accoutrements of that regiment; nor could 
they avoid contrasting their own miserable 
dress, and scanty pay, with those of their new 
allies. The women were particularly ch armed ; 
and the musicians, with their hats dressed 
round with feathers, had, I found, made a deep 
impression on every heart. The death of 
General Moore, and the embarkation of the 
English, was not yet known here, even to the 
best informed. A French emigrant of the 
Revolution, married in Spain, and an officer 
of some rank in the Spanish army, visited me, 
and was now for the first time informed of 
these important events. The miserable sys- 
tem of keeping the people in a state of igno- 
rance as much as possible is still as strongly 
persisted in by the Government of Spain as 
in former periods. This officer informed 
me that he had commanded the cavalry of 
the rear guard of the Duke del Infantado's 
army, when it had been obliged to retreat, 
and had lost all its artillery. " My men 
fought desperately/' said he, " and twice 
drove back the enemy ; but there was a great 
fault somewhere, for the whole of the guard 
under my command, appointed to cover thfe 



52 



MONASTER!©* 



retreat of the artillery, did not exceed five: 
hundred men."— " You are a Frenchman/' 
said I, " and have some means of j udging, tell 
me candidly what is your opinion of the 
probable issue of the present contest r" — " I 
am certainly of opinion," replied he, " that 
if the Spaniards are supported by England, 
they can never be conquered." Knowing 
how difficult it is ever to eradicate from the 
mind of a Frenchman the idea of the glory 
of his country, I felt inclined to attach some 
. weight to this opinion. 

During the whole of the Qth I was detained 
at Monasterio by rains, so incessant that it 
was even impossible to stir out of doors. On 
the morning of the 10th I set off, with the 
earnest request of the family among which 
I had lived, to make their house my home 
if ever I should return by that road. About 
half a league from Monasterio begins what is 
here considered as the entrance of the Sierra 
Morena; and a rude heap of stones, surmounted 
by a cross, warns the pious traveller to pre- 
pare, by prayers and recommendations to his 
peculiar Saint, for his entrance into this once- 
dreaded Sierra, the haunt of robbers and mur- 
derers. The distance from an inhabited place 
has, at former periods, determined this spot 



SIERRA MORENA, 



53 



to be the entrance of the Sierra, but the tra- 
veller may observe a gradual rise nearly from 
the banks of the Guadiana. It is here, how- 
ever, that we begin to find ourselves in the 
heart of the Sierra. The chains of mountains 
appear to cross each other in all points, and we 
are at a loss how to determine their general 
direction. Soon after entering this sacred 
ground, I observed parties of peasants at work 
in three different spots, erecting batteries and 
redoubts to guard the pass. The peasants 
at work received, as I was informed, six reals 
per day, equal to about eigh teen-pence of 
English money, and worth at least twice as 
much, as to what it would command of the 
immediate necessaries of life. These batteries 
were all erected towards Monasterio, under 
the idea of the French endeavouring to pe^ 
netrate by that road to Sevilla ; and indeed 
it would be difficult to find a more defensible 
country, than that which occurs between 
Monasterio and Santa Olalla, a post at the 
distance of four leagues. A league beyond 
the batteries, after crossing a small stream, 
the ground on both sides of the road begins 
to be covered with huge blocks of granite, 
scattered about amid the cork-trees. Con- 
tinuing our ride, we arrived at Santa Olalla, 

3 



54 



SIERRA MORENA 



where an old castle, on a hill to the rights 
presents the principal object, and almost 
entirely conceals the place, consisting of 
upwards of two hundred houses, which lies 
behind it. The officer of whom I inquired, 
computed the number of houses at five hun- 
dred, but I already knew something of the 
vague manner of Spanish calculation on these 
points. A considerable number of recruits, 
and a park of artillery, were collected at Santa 
Qlalla, and here my pass was again examined. 

From Santa Olalla to Ronquillo the dis- 
tance is four leagues. Between these two 
posts, or rather shortly after leaving Santa 
Olalla, we appear to have reached the highest 
part of the ridge of the Sierra Morena, which 
we cross in this route. The streams now 
begin to run toward the south ; or, if the 
direction of the smaller valleys be across the 
road, the brooks in the bottoms fall rapidly 
to the eastward, or east-north-east. The 
yiews on this route are much more interesting 
on looking back to the northward, than they 
are in proceeding towards Sevilla. On the 
right of the road to the north-west, the hills 
tossed in great confusion, justify the name of 
Sierra, or Saw, which the Spaniards are so 
-> fond of applying to the ridges of their great 
jrnountains* Whilst contemplating them, I 



SIERRA MORENA. 



55 



saw the rain descend upon them in dark 
showers, whilst I was in the sun-shine. This 
was a spot formerly much dreaded, and called 
El Puerto de los Ladrones, or the Pass of the 
Robbers ; and certainly, as being in the 
very heart of the Sierra, it may have for- 
merly been a favourable spot for their 
depredations. The approach to Ronquillo, 
however, is very pleasing: we first discern 
the red and white steeple of its church, and 
shortly afterwards the village itself, sur- 
rounded by gently-rising hills, covered with 
corn fields, or scattered over with clumps of 
olive trees. The principal street is broad, 
and the houses in general tolerably neat. I 
found here two dragoons of the 18th, who 
had been employed to purchase horses ; and 
their account corroborates what has oftea 
been asserted, that the breed of Andalusia 
must have greatly degenerated from its for- 
mer fame. At four I left Ronquillo, mounted 
on a mule, as was also my guide, being the 
first time that I had seen these animals used 
to ride upon for posting. The road was 
through the mountains for about two leagues, 
and the views very interesting. All along it, 
bodies of peasantry were employed in break- 
ing down the bridges over the ravines and 
small streams, and placing planks in their 



56 



SIEERA MORENA. 



steady which, in case of emergency, could be 
removed in a few minutes. Particular spots 
were also marked out for the erection of 
batteries, and every preparation seemed to be 
making for the defence of these passes, so 
strongly fortified by nature. These are, 
indeed, the natural ramparts of the fertile 
plains of Andalusia on this side ; and if the 
Spaniards cannot defend them, it will be use- 
less to talk afterwards of making a stand be- 
hind the walls of Sevilla, and exposing their 
towns to the horrors of a siege. This after- 
noon I met a long train of mules, carrying 
upwards of one hundred thousand dollars for 
the army. My guide did not fail to point 
them out with great exultation, informing me 
at the same time, that they were part of a 
patriotic contribution lately arrived in Sevilla 
from Mexico. The pack of the leading mule 
was adorned with a small flag, on which were 
the name and arms of Ferdinand the Seventh, 
which the Spaniards are fond of displaying 
on all uossible occasions. 

Two leagues from Ronquillo we cross the 
rapid stream of the Guerba, on a very neat 
bridge of eight arches. Immediately above 

are the ruins of a very ancient bridge, which, 
to judge of it in its present state, appears to 
have been of Roman construction, Inrnne- 



SIERRA M0RENA 



57 



diately after crossing this stream the road 
ascends, when having gained the summit of 
the hills, we behold beneath us the wide- 
spread plains of Sevilla, towards which we 
now for the last time begin rapidly to de- 
scend. 

From Santa Marta to this spot the road 
may be said to be constantly through the 
Sierra Morena. The views in every direc- 
tion are those of a mountainous country : the 
succession of passes ; the peculiar race of 
people, simple, stout, and hardy, secluded 
among the mountains which border this road; 
the deep gullies, the rapid streams, the long 
descents, all tend to render it a track which 
can never fail to be interesting to the travel- 
ler. The race of brave men which these 
mountains contain, have never been brought 
forward in their individual character, although 
they seem well 9alculated to form one branch 
of the Highlanders of Spain. Detachments 
have been drawn from them from time to 
time, but immediately mixed with other 
hordes of slaves, where their peculiar charac- 
teristics were lost. Yet I regard them, if 
properly managed, as an invaluable weapon 
for the defence of these important mountains. 
The political views which I . was thus led to 



SIERRA M0RENA 



entertain added perhaps to the natural in- 
terest of the country, although at a season 
when adventitious aids were hardly necessary* 
The bases of the chains of lofty mountains, 
the hills/ and long valleys, the plains, and the 
sides of every steep, were green with vegeta- 
tion, or varied with spots of flowering shrubs 
in full blossom. It was no longer the brown 
Sierra, but a wilderness of romantic charms, 
where the eye, the smell, and the ear, were 
delighted. For not only were the views 
highly interesting, not only was the air, in 
certain spots* perfumed as we passed along 
with the scent of wild flowers in full blossom ; 
the ear also was charmed with the various 
sounds of water, which trickled down the 
green mountain's side, dashed in the ravines 
from steep to steep in petty cascades, or when 
collected in the bottoms of the valleys, rolled 
along in thunder, carrying a great, but tran- 
sitory tribute to the sea. 

From Ronquillo to La Venta de Guillena 
is a post of three and a half leagues, accord- 
ing to the present establishment, although 
formerly rated only as three. It was dark 
before I arrived at this place, which is little 
more than a post-house ; and after a consider- 
able delay, I was enabled to set off about eight 



ROUTE TO SEVILLA, 5Q 

o'clock, on a miserable horse. The distance 
from this place to Sevilla is now reckoned at 
three and a half leagues, but formerly divided, 
into two posts, of one and two leagues. The 
horse on which I rode was, however, so very 
bad, that in spite of all my efforts I could with 
difficulty get him to proceed. About two 
leagues from Venta de Guillena, we pass 
through Santiponce, the Italica of the Rod- 
mans, the birth-place of Trajan and Adrian, 
and the foundation of which has, by some 
writers, been attributed to Scipio Africanus. 
In the surrounding fields are to be seen traces 
of city walls, which sufficiently demonstrate 
its ancient grandeur ; as do the ruins of a 
noble oval amphitheatre to the north. All 
these I surveyed subsequently, although now 
I was enabled to survey them only rapidly, 
and partially by a very faint moonlight. The 
present population of Santiponce is reckoned 
at about six hundred souls. Another tire- 
some league brought me to Sevilla, where I 
did not arrive till one in the morning. I was 
stopped at the floating-bridge which here 
crosses the Guadalquivir, and all my pass- 
ports were strictly examined. Having crossed 
the bridge, even at that hour I was conduct- 
pel to the sitting of the Junta, where I found 



ROUTE TO 5EVILLA, 



a member, in full dress, in waiting ; who 
merely asked me a few questions, and then 
.ordered a messenger to conduct me to a good 
Posada. Trusting to this guide, I was con- 
ducted to the no very celebrated Posada of La 
Para, where, after having with much diffi- 
culty awakened some of the household, I pro- 
cured a mattress of straw, on which I stretch- 
ed my wearied limbs for the remainder of the 
night* 



MERINO SHEEP 



CHAP. III. 

On the Merino Sheep, and the Mesta. 

W HEN at Badajoz, and subsequently at 
Sevilla, I saw collected several large flocks of 
Merino sheep^ with their shepherds, for the 
purpose of being sent to Lisbon or Cadiz, to 
be transported to England. As these sheep 
have long proved an object of considerable 
curiosity, I took pains to acquire every pos- 
sible information respecting them. The 
result of my inquiries was merely a corrobo- 
ration of the statement given by Don An- 
tonio Ponz, in his Plage de Espana, and 
which appears to have been drawn from the 
best sources^ and in the centre of the 
kingdom. 

It is singular that these flocks are stated to 
have been originally of a foreign breed, and 
even to have been derived from England. 
Their name is by some deduced from this 
circumstance, and they are said to have been 
originally called Marino, or Marine flocks y to 



62 



MERINO SHEEP 



have been highly valued on that account, and 
by degrees thought worthy of a particular 
code of laws. Be that as it may, the attention 
paid to them is excessive, and while some 
writers esteem them an essential part of the 
riches of Spain, others have attributed prin- 
cipally to them the depopulation of the 
central provinces of the kingdom. 

These flocks (says dePonz) pass the summer 
months in the mountains of Leon, Cuenca, and 
parts of Arragon and Castile ; and the winter 
in the plains of Estremadura, Andalusia, and 
La Mancha. The latter stations are called 
Invernaderos, or winter quarters ; the former 
Agostoderosy a word solely used to express 
their summer retreats. The distance of these 
two stations from each other is not the same 
for every flock. Some have to proceed five 
hundred miles from one extremity to the 
other, and few have less than three hundred. 
Their days' journeys are as long, and as well 
regulated, as those of an army on its march, 
there being some days in which, on account 
of the sterility of the track, and the conse- 
quent difficulty of finding food, they go 
upwards of twenty miles ; a wonderful cir- 
cumstance in animals naturally so lazy and 
inactive. 



MERINO SHEEP 



63 



When the flock has arrived at its destined 
station in the mountains, the first care of the 
Directors is to place the folds in spots more 
or less fertile, according to the fineness and 
quality of the sheep. The next is to separate 
the lambs from the mothers, and form of 
them separate flocks for the ensuing year. 
This operation is sometimes performed in the 
season of shearing, when the winter quarters 
have been favourable and the lambs are 
strong and in good condition. 

In the mountains salt is given to them at 
the rate of a bushel for every hundred head, 
because the grass is here considered to be less 
stimulant and nutritive than in the plains. 
It is distributed to them every third day* 
broken into small lumps, on the ground 
where they are feeding, and they lick it with 
great avidity. 

About the end of June the. rams are intro- 
duced to the flocks, in the proportion of six to 
every hundred ewes, and the greatest atten- 
tion is paid in their selection, as the fineness 
of the wool is thought to depend principally 
upon that care. They remain with the flocks 
about a month ; and if the weather be cold, 
toasted salt, and sometimes black pepper, is 
given to them. 



64 MERtNO SHEEP. 



Beside? the rams destined for this purpose^ 
there are whale flocks of others kept solely 
for their" flesh and wool; for although 
wethers yield both of these finer and more 
delicate, yet are their fleeces inferior in 
quantity, and they are more feeble and short- 
lived than the rams. This is peculiar to the 
Merino flocks. 

The flesh and the wool of these sheep are 
unimpaired until the sixth year ; but after that 
age both decline rapidly. Their greatest 
duration is seven or eight years, when their 
teeth either fall out or become useless in so 
much that they cannot feed. 

After some time the rams are separated 
from the flocks, and the whole remain in the 
mountains until the end of September, at 
which time they are marked with Almagre, a 
species of red ochre common in many parts 
of Spain, and which is commonly, though 
erroneously, thought to contribute to the 
fineness of the wool. 

Towards the end of September, or begin- 
ning of October, they begin their march for 
the plains of La Mancha, Andalusia, and 
Estremadura, the last province being that 
which is most traversed by them. Thevroute 
which each flock is to pursue* according to 



MERINO SHEEP 



65 



the spot from which it sets out, and thrft to 
which it is directed, is regulated by Royal 
ordinances and various statutes of great 
antiquity. During the whole of their journey 
they have entire freedom of pasture in the 
plains and commons ; and as they frequently 
traverse countries which are. inclosed, and in 
a state of cultivation, certain roads are left 
for them, which by laws and ancient customs 
must be at least ninety P r aras 9 about seventy 
yards, in breadth, that the flocks may pass 
without inconvenience. 

The repeated regulations for the freedom 
end preservation of these routes, as well as 
respecting atonement for the damage which 
the flocks and shepherds may occasion on 
their journey in fields and gardens, and the 
duties which they are to pay in passing from 
one province to another, are all collected 
together, and form that peculiar system of 
law 7 s called the Mesta. 

As has been already observed, their day's 
journey is always proportioned to the quantity 
of their pasture, and the greater or less width 
of the tracks. When these are long and 
narrow', the flocks sometimes go upwards cf 
twenty miles in a day ; and when they arrive 
at broad tracks and wide plains, they repay 

E 



66 



MERINO SHEET, 



themselves for the fatigue of these painful 
marches, by walking along and feeding at their 
leisure. They never, however, have a day of 
perfect repose, but always advance a league 
or two ; and it is singular to see how they 
follow the shepherd who leads them, without 
ceasing to eat, and with their heads always 
close to the ground. 

When arrived at the destined spot, they 
are divided into flocks, either of a thousand 
(which number is called a full flock), or of five 
hundred (which is called a quinto) ; and as 
much ground is allotted to each, as the 
Mayoral, or principal shepherd, may deem 
sufficient. The other shepherds then build 
their huts of turf and boughs of trees, and 
fix their habitation for the season, during the 
whole of which they continue to pay the 
most minute attention to their flocks, espe- 
cially as the period approaches when the ewes 
are expected to bring forth ; and after that, 
to the lambs. 

When the lambs are yeaned, they with their 
dams are divided into two parts, the early 
and the later births. The latter are taken to 
the richest parts- of the pasture, in order that 
they may overtake the first in their growth, 
so that the whole may leave their winter 



MERINO SHESlP, 6f 

quarters as nearly as possible upon an equality. 
Towards the latter end of March the tails of 
the sheep are cut, that they may not dirty 
the fleece. At the same time each owner 
puts his mark upon his flock, both with a hot 
iron and by cutting one or both ears, such 
being a positive law of the Mesta. The horns 
of the rams are also shortened, that they may 
not injure each other or the flocks during the 
march, arid such as are destined for wethers 
are put aside. 

When the month of April has come, 
either through instinct or the regular habit 
of moving their quarters, the flocks seem to 
be aware that the period is arrived for com- 
mencing their march. All the shepherds are 
agreed as to the extraordinary restlessness 
then shewn by the flocks, and which it is 
hardly possible to restrain. It has sometimes 
happened, when the shepherds were careless 
or asleep, that the flocks have proceeded of 
their own accord as far as two or three leagues 
in search of their summer quarters. Their 
journies to return are similar to those of their 
going, except with the interruption of the 
shearing, which is generally performed at 
certain stations near their route. Tike 
shearers of Segovia are in the highest repute, 

& 2 



MERINO SHEEP 



and they uniformly fix their shearing places 
in the province of Segovia, on the northern 
;slope of that sierra or ridge of mountains 
which separates the two Castiles. 

In their quarters the flocks are divided into 
thousands, but on their march they are very 
unequal in numbers, some amounting from 
between thirty to forty thousand head, whilst 
others do not exceed three thousand. Reckon- 
ing one with another at ten thousand fleeces, 
each of that amount has a Director (Mayoral), 
who ought to know the nature of the diffe- 
rent pastures, the diseases to which the flocks 
are liable, the remedies for these diseases, 
and in short every thing relating to their 
entire management. Under his orders are 
fifty shepherds, and every shepherd has a 
dog. The usual pay of a Director is about 
sixty pounds sterling annually, and a horse. 
Those under him, of the first class, have about 
fifteen dollars ; those of the second, ten ; 
of the third., seven ; and the lowest of all 
(Gananes), four dollars. Each of these 
shepherds is allowed two pounds of bread per 
day, and the same quantity, but of inferior 
- quality, for each dog. They are also allowed 
to mix a few sheep or goats with the flock^ on 
their own account ; but the wool is for the 



THE MESTA 



/ 

6g 



Lord of the whole ; the flesh, the milk, and 
the lambs, remaining for themselves. Fi- 
nally, in the months of April and October, 
when they are about to begin their journeys 
each shepherd receives a gratification of 
about a dollar. 

Such are the most interesting particu- 
lars given by De Ponz relative to the 
marches and the treatment of the Me- 
rino flocks. The various opinions as to their 
origin, and their utility, or their bad effects, 
embrace a wider field. So various and so 
complicated are the regulations respecting 
them, and disputes are so constantly arising 
between the owners of the flocks and the 
agriculturists, that a tribunal, named the 
Mesta, is appointed for the sole purpose of 
maintaining these regulations, and adjusting 
these disputes. The power of this tribunal 
was formerly very great, and unfortunately 
being composed of men whose chief property 
consisted in Merino flocks, the decisions 
were almost uniformly in favour of the shep- 
herds. The bad effects of this system did - 
not escape the observation of the more intel- 
ligent Spaniards, and hence arose the most 
discordant opinions; one party attributing the 
depopulation of Spain to the oppressive laws 



70 THE MESTA. 

of the Mesta, whilst the other counted no 
sacrifice too great to preserve and extend the 
breed of sheep which brought such riches 
into the country. In England we have dis- 
putes upon points almost as obvious, and in 
some instances with effects almost as perni- 
cious. In the year 1705j a letter was pub- 
lished at Madrid from Martin Sarmiento to 
one of the principal members of the Mesta, 
which contains all that has been alledged 
against that institution, and gives also some 
account of its origin. The following extracts 
are perhaps not uninteresting : 

" The word Mesta," says Sarmiento, " has 
been applied exclusively to flocks, only by long 
abuse, since it originally implied a mixture 
(mezela) of all the objects of growth. There 
is no notice in Spain of flocks subject to 
public regulations, until the latter part of the 
reign of King Alphonso the Last. When 
about that period ships for the first time 
brought English flocks into Spain, the office 
of Judge of the Mesta was instituted, as has 
been observed by the Bachiller Fernan 
Gomez^ of Ciudad Real. The aforesaid 
King introduced the Marino sheep (not Me- 
rino as they are now vulgarly called,) on 
account of the fineness of their wool, in the 



THE MESTA. /I 

same manner that the present King, our 
master, whom God preserve, brought to la 
Casa del Campo the goats of Angora, on ac- 
count of their fine wool, which is like white silk. 

" A few years after the first introduction of 
the English sheep, supervened that terrible 
plague which desolated all Europe and part 
of Asia in 1348, and which in 1350 carried 
off King Alphonso himself. Spain suffered 
terribly, insomuch that from the time of the 
deluge no trace exists of such a calamity. 
Two thirds of the nation perished. Then 
was Spain depopulated, and the lands re- 
mained a desert, without masters and without 
cultivators. The many isolated churches 
which are still seen in the centre of 
Spain, give testimony to this terrible pest 
having desolated whole villages, of which 
even the ruins have perished. The conse- 
quence was, that the places of four or five 
villages of perhaps two hundred houses each, 
were usurped by a solitude ready for the first 
occupier* All this territory was appropriated by 
the surviving villages around, whence it comes 
that at this day we see some of them claiming 
immense territories. Thus where three or 
four villages flourished, a few towers only re- 
main, or the ruins of what at this day are 



%% THE ME ST A ^ 

called, from their standing alone, rural 
churches. 

" This plague lasted several years, but the 
stagnation and laziness created by it have 
existed now upwards of four hundred. To this 
calamity, or this laziness, the Mesta owes its 
origin. Some of the flocks from beyond the 
seas were placed in the mountains of Segovia, 
without thinking either of regulations or of 
other provinces. The extent of the depopu- 
lation, and the scarcity of labourers, occa- 
sioned the flocks and their shepherds to 
extend their boundaries, there being nothing 
to restrain them. The shepherds went on 
availing themselves of those lands which the 
plague had reduced to a solitude; not to 
cultivate them, but for the use of their flocks. 
At this time also was introduced the mis- 
chievous custom of ploughing with mules ; by 
which means (says Arieta) the ground is not 
ploughed, but scratched. 

" The interest of the cultivators being thus 
rendered so small, a great part of the country 
became as it were abandoned to foreign flocks, 
which impede agriculture. The obvious 
remedy against the evils of this general cala- 
mity was discerned by the Portuguese ; but 
the Castilians remained obstinately blind, 4 



THE MESTA. 7' 



some dazzled by the desire of possessing large 
estates, although uncultivated ; and others, 
large flocks and herds; as if agriculture were 
not necessary to a nation. The laws promul- 
gated on this occasion by Don Fernando of 
Portugal ought to be written in letters of 
gold. One of them decrees, that * no person, 
who is not either a cultivator, or his servant, 
shall possess a flock either for himself or 
another ; and if any other wishes to keep a 
flock, he must cultivate a certain portion of 
land, under penalty of losing it' 

" By this most just law alone, where it is ob- 
served, are remedied many of the evils of the 
Mesta, and of the herdsmen, who, without 
cultivating a foot of land, usurp so much 
from agriculture. It is shameful to See intro- 
duced into Spain the mode of living of the 
Saracens, who, without cultivating the ground, 
wander with their flocks and herds over the 
immense deserts of Lybia and Arabia. 
When the civilized Moors possessed Estre- 
madura, the country was one garden, and 
fully peopled, as is evident from the large 
armies which they put on foot against the 
Christians. They did not send their flocks 
Jo Castile, nor did the Spaniards drive theirs 



74 



THE MESTA, • 



into Estremadura ; national jealousies pre- 
vented this. Where then was the Mesta ? 

" Some people will not believe that the 
depopulation of Spain proceeds from the 
Mesta, because there are immense wastes 
where its laws do not extend. To this I an- 
swer, that the most populous provinces of 
Spain are those where the Mesta is unknown, 
as Gallicia, Asturias, Montana, and Biscay, 
to which we may add Navarre, Cataluna, 
and Valencia. The Mesta depopulates not 
only Estremadura, but all the kingdom of 
Leon, and the two Castiles, which are inter- 
sected in all directions by the tracks reserved 
for the flocks ; thus sterilizing the country, 
and preventing the inhabitants from inclosing 
their own lands, contrary to every right either 
of nature or of well regulated nations." 

Such are the sentiments of Sarmiento, 
in which the reader will observe many 
truths, and some important facts, mixed 
with errors. After all that has been said, it 
is by no means evident that the laws of the 
Mesta have occasioned the depopulation of 
the central provinces of Spain. The migra- 
tions of the Merino flocks have evidently 
arisen out of the nature of the country, 
and pre-existing circumstances, and are 

1 



• THE MESTA. 75 

bounded by these. But although the nu- 
merous regulations of the Mesta may not 
have occasioned such vast tracts of country 
to be left uncultivated, they certainly have 
very materially contributed to preserve them 
in that state. 



7t> 



&E VILLA* 



CHAP. IV. 



Sevilla. Its antiquity— situation — walls and 
gates — streets — cathedral— Giralda — Al- 
cazar — Almedas — River > Guadalquivir. — 
Departure from Sevilla. 

X FIE love of ancient titles is in no part of 
the globe earned to a greater extent than in 
Spain ; and hence the Spanish historians are 
fond of tracing back the foundation of their 
principal cities to periods very remote. 
By some of them, Sevilla is said to have 
been founded by the Lybian Hercules, in 
the year of the world 2228 ; some assert it to 
have been built by the Chaldeans ; and others, 
by the aborigines of Spain, and conse- 
quently to be of an unknown antiquity. It 
was certainly one of the most celebrated 
cities of Adalusia during the period of the 
Romans possessing the country, and was then 
called Hispalis. In the course of ages, and 
particularly after the invasion of the Moors, 
the name became gradually corrupted to His- 



SEVILLA* 



77 



billa, Sbilla, and finally Sevilla. Whatever 
be the period of its foundation, or the origin 
of its name, Sevilla is at present a city 
highly interesting on many accounts : its 
- situation, its walls, its cathedral, its Alcazar, 
many of its churches and convents, and 
its being the present seat of government; 
each of these would alone render it worthy 
of the attention of the traveller. But in 
surveying these, who can refrain from me- 
ditating on its past history, particularly on that 
period of its glory, when Columbus sailed 
almost from beneath its walls, to go in search 
of and to discover a new world ? Who does not 
feel himself recompensed for all his fatigues, 
when he beholds, in the great church, the 
simple tablet of stone which records the 
birth and the death of that great man ; or the 
Convent of Santa Maria de las Cuevas, w here 
his body lay, until Spain permitted it to be 
carried across the Atlantic ? 

Sevilla lies on the south-eastern bank of the 
Guadalquivir, w hich river forms its chief boun- 
dary on the west, while on every other side 
extends a beautiful and spacious plain, bounded 
only by the horizon, the hills which rise 
towards. Carmona, or the southern skirts of 
the Sierra Morena. It is surrounded by 9. 



SEVILLA. 



wall evidently of Moorish fabric, although 
built in many parts on Roman foundations, 
and of the materials of the ancient Roman 
works. The whole exterior circuit of this 
wall is about three miles and a quarter, or 
such as a man may easily walk round in 
less than an hour. At the distance of nearly 
every fifty yards from each other are square 
towers, amounting to about a hundred and 
thirty in number. The fortifications are said 
to have been first erected by Julius Caesar ; 
and they appear, for the most part, to be 
formed of a species of agglutinated gravel, 
which, by long exposure to the air, has ac- 
quired the consistency of the hardest stone. 
After recovering the city from the Moors, 
the Spaniards, knowing no better system of 
fortification, preserved and beautified that 
which they found existing. In the fair times 
of peace they seem to have adorned even 
the exterior of the walls towards the Gua- 
dalquivir, with paintings on a species of 
stucco ; and on one of the towers in that 
direction is still to be seen the repre- 
sentation of a turbaned head transfixed by 
a Christian and Spanish lance. In this cir- 
cuit there are at present fifteen gates, to each 
of which the Spaniards attach some history. 



t 

SE VILLA.' 



79 



Through the Royal gate the Conqueror of 
Sevilla, Fernando the Third made his trium- 
phal entry. I viewed it, perhaps with more 
interest^ as having been formerly called the 
gate of Goles, the corrupted names of Her- 
cules, whose statue was placed upon it ; nor 
could I avoid smiling at having thus found 
the origin of an oath among the English vul- 
gar, who little think by how stout a deity 
they are swearing! The gate of the sun is the 
most eastern of the city, and which, in an- 
cient times, was consecrated to that luminary. 
La Puerto del Ossario, or the gate of the 
Charnel-house, opened formerly towards the 
cemeteries of the Moors without the w 7 alls. 
The gate of Carmona, near to which is the 
reservoir of the aqueduct of that name, is on 
the eastern side. Between the gate of Triana 
and the river, and close upon the latter, stands 
an ancient handsome octagonal tower, called 
the Tower of Gold, apparently of Roman 
construction, and destined for the defence of 
the river, and as an out-work to the city on 
this side. The Moors, when they possessed 
Sevilla, had an iron chain stretched across the 
Guadalquivir at this part, and in breaking 
which one of the Spanish Admirals gained 
great honour, Opposite to this tower, and 



80 



SEVILLA* 



at no great distance from it, is another, more 
modern, called the Silver Tower, because, 
perhaps, the first silver which came from 
South America was deposited here, In short, 
were we to judge by the inscription over the 
gate of Xeres, rebuilt in the year I561, the 
history of Sevilla is there included in a few 
lines : — 

Hercules me eclifi co ; 
Julio Caesar me cerco 
De muros j torres altas ; 
El Santo Key me gano, 
Con Garci Perez de Varans. 

That is — 

Hercules built me j 

Julius Caesar encircled me 

With walls, and lofly towers ; 

The Sam fly King gained me, 

YVith the help of Garci Perez de Wgas. 

It must not be supposed that these wails 
perforin an uninterrupted circuit round the 
town. In some parts convents, in others the 
commencement of the suburbs, break through 
this line, and communicate with the sur- 
rounding plain. The suburbs are populous, 
and appear formerly to have been of much 
greater extent than at the present clay ; of 
which, indeed, w 7 e can have no doubt, when 
we consider the number of houses unoccu- 



SEVlLLA. 



81 



pied, and the various waste spots of ground 
within and close to the walls. The number 
of inhabitants is still, however, very consi- 

m 

derable, and including the suburbs, can. 
hardly be reckoned at less than eighty thou- 
sand souls. Were we to consider merely 
the extent of the town, this might appear a 
great population ; but the inhabitants live 
close ; the streets are so narrow, that in most 
of them two carriages cannot pass each 
other ; nay even a single one has sometimes 
difficulty in proceeding, and the foot passen- 
gers are obliged to run into courts, or the 
entrances of the houses, to avoid being 
crushed by the w r heels against the walls. 

These narrow streets were doubtless first 
built by the Moors, whose towns on the Bar- 
bary shore still bear, in this and in many 
other respects, a striking resemblance to the 
greater part of those towns in Spain where 
they formerly held dominion. In Sevilla, 
besides the narrowness,of the streets, we still 
behold other traces of the Moors, in the 
different coloured tiles and bricks with which 
some of the buildings are adorned ; in the 
square courts within the houses where cool 
fountains throw up a small stream of water, 
which falls down into a basin in the centre of 

F 



82 



SEVILLA 



the marble pavement, surrounded with flow- 
ers, to which the Christians have added 
statues and paintings ; in the remains of the 
bezars, where tradesmen of the same profes- 
sion live together in rows in the principal 
streets ; and even in the form of their con- 
vents and monasteries, which exactly resem- 
bles that of the inner court of a mosque. It 
is also to this day the custom among the 
principal Moors, to fix upon a certain mark, 
or flourish, which they make instead of writ- 
ing their names. Even the Turkish Empe- 
ror, at Constantinople, follows this custom ; 
and when he takes possession of the throne, 
makes public that mark which he means 
thereafter to adopt ; it is in general very in- 
tricate, and when once determined upon, is 
engraved on his seal. I was more pleased 
than surprised to trace this custom, in a pub- 
lic order posted on the gates of Sevilla. The 
official names were printed at the bottom of 
the proclamation ; but to render it valid, a 
most formidable and intricate flourish was 
attached to each name, and which might 
well have passed current at Constantinople 
or Smyrna. 

The public buildings of Sevilla are nume- 
rous ; and some of them very interesting. 



The greater part of the churches are built 
upon the ground formerly occupied by 
Moorish mosques ; and the Spaniards, in 
some instances, have taken pains to erect 
them on the same foundations ; thus taking 
a pious revenge upon the infidels, by making 
their labours partly subservient to the worship 
of the Most Holy Virgin. The church of 
St. John de la Palma, so called from a palm* 
tree which grew near it, was, even when a 
mosque, dedicated by the Moors to the same 
Saint. Some, as the church of St. Julian^ 
, were temples in the time of the Goths ; 1 and 
others, as St. Bartholomew, synagogues of 
the Jews, while that race was allowed to exist 
in Spain. In one of these ancient syna- 
gogues, now called the church of the Holy 
Cross., is to be seen a very celebrated painting 
of the Descent from the Cross, by Pedro 
Campagna, and which Murillo, the glory of 
Sevillian, and indeed of Spanish painters, 
used frequently to study. Indeed, almost 
every church, every convent and monastery, 
possesses some object worthy of attention ; a 
beautiful painting, or a collection of paint- 
ings ; a well carved statue ; an ancient pillar 
of excellent proportions, or altars adorned 
with superb variegated marbles. 

f 2 



84 



SEYILLA 



But the great ornament of Sevilla is its 
Cathedral ; the chief of its buildings, either 
religious or civil. It is impossible to enter 
this noble pile, without immediately experienc- 
ing those sensations which great and interest- 
ing objects produce in the mind. The loftiness 
of the arched roof, the height and elegance of 
the clustered shafts which form the pillars, 
and the length and proportions of the aisles, 
at once arrest the attention. It is not until 
after some time that we stop to consider its 
minor ornaments ; the numerous and elegant 
chapels ranged along its side walls ; the 
beautiful choir in the centre of the principal 
aisle, and the variety of admirable paintings, 
many of them by Murillo, which adorn it on 
every side. 

This great building was commenced in the 
year 1401, and completed in 1529, upon the 
ruins of the former principal Moorish mosque, 
and extends within the walls three hundred 
and eighty geometrical feet in length, from 
east to west, and nearly two hundred and 
twenty in breadth. It is divided longitudi- 
nally by rows of lofty Gothic pillars into five 
aisles, of which the centre one is by far the 
largest ; and the height, from the pavement 
to the top of the roof, is about one hundred 



SEVILLA. 



S5 



feet. In the centre of the middle aisle is the 
choir ; which, however magnificent in itself, 
detracts, perhaps, in a general view, from the 
grand simplicity which this part of the build- 
ing is so peculiarly calculated for producing, 
were it left open. It may be said now to be 
encumbered with beauties ; yet, when w r e 
enter the choir, we reflect not whether it be 
well or badly placed. In front is the princi- 
pal altar, rich with gold and silver, valuable 
marbles, and paintings ; and with which it is 
connected by handsome ballustrades of brass* 
On each side are two magnificent organs; and 
the hundred and forty four seats which 
surround it are of wood, carved with infinite 
labour, and representing a variety of scriptural 
subjects ; in short, the choir is a rich church 
of itself, and for a short time almost makes 
us forget the still nobler temple in which it is 
enshrined. 

The plate used in the more solemn ser- 
vices of this cathedral is of great value, and 
in some instances of excellent workmanship ; 
but the traveller will behold with greater 
interest, and consider with greater attention, 
the master-pieces of Murillo, with which 
some of the chapels are enriched. This ad- 
mirable painter, whose name, I believe, is 



86 SEVILLA. 

little known in England, seems to have taken 
a peculiar pleasure in adorning the churches 
and convents of Sevilla, which was his native 
place. Not only the cathedral, but also the 
convent of St. Francisco, the hospital of St. 
Bernardo, and the hospital of St. George, . 
contain many of his paintings, besides a 
variety of single pictures scattered over the 
whole city, in various religious establish- 
ments. Among other fine paintings, is an 
allegorical one by Luis de Vargas, over an 
altar, in which a leg of Adam is so admirably 
done, that it is thence called the Altar of the 
Leg. Near to this altar, on one side of the 
entrance of the church door, is a gigantic 
representation of the gigantic Saint Christo- 
pher, by an Italian painter, apparently of no 
great excellence : he possessed, however, the 
rare quality of candour ; for on viewing the 
above-mentioned picture of de Vargas, he 
exclaimed, and certainly with truth, "that 
Jjeg is worth the whole of my Saint Christo-^ 
pher." In the sacristy are two beautiful 
paintings by Murillo, of the Archbishops St. 
Leandro and St. Isidore seated. But the 
pious Catholic views with more regard the 
Alfonsine Repository, a yard in height, 
formed of silver, gilt within, and plated with 



SEVILLA 



87 



gold without, ornamented with figures carved, 
and containing reliques of three hundred 
Saints. Here also are to be seen a piece of 
the Holy Cross, a thorn of the Ci?own of 
Christ, part of the dress of the Most Holy 
Virgin, whole bodies of some Saints, and 
heads, arms, legs, bones, and fingers of others. 

What mind, not bigotted from infancy, can 
view without profound emotions either of 
sorrow or contempt, these melancholy re- 
mains of perishable beings like ourselves 
carefully hoarded up, encased in silver and 
gold, and produced only at intervals as ob- 
jects of regard, and even of adoration, to a 
surrounding multitude ? How carefully, in all 
human institutions, and even in divine, when 
entrusted to human hands, should we watch 
the very first inroads of craft, folly, or am- 
bition ! There was a period when this heap of 
bones, if exposed to public view, would have 
excited only contempt or disgust ; but by 
slow degrees one pious fraud has been entwin- 
ed with another, bone has been added to bone, 
until the lapse of time has sanctified the 
monstrous collection, and made it heresy to 
doubt the truth of any one of the legends 
attached to it. But the Priests of Catho- 
licism have tried all means to interest the 



8$ 



SEVILLE 



passions, and if in some instances they have 
failed, owing to the increasing knowledge of 
the times, in others they have perfectly suc- 
ceeded. I witnessed the truth of both these 
facts on the same day. In the morning it was 
a grand jubilee ; the deep tones of the 
organ were too solemn for the occasion ; but 
ihe lively violin, the cymbal, and the flute, 
sounded through the choir, while a party of 
eight youths, dressed in the Spanish garb of 
the sixteenth century, with slashed doublets, 
shoes adorned with roses, and hats with 
plumes of feathers, danced before the altar : 
before that altar, which no Spaniard, not 
even the priest, ever passes without bending 
the knee, they performed a strange figure, 
they gave right hands and left,, they snapped 
their castanets, they changed sides and back 
again, all with their hats on, and all for the 
glory of God ! Even the pious Spaniard knew 
not whether, on this occasion, his religion 
called upon him to laugh or to weep, al- 
though he might feel more inclined to the 
former. In the evening I repaired to the 
same spot, with the inclination of enjoying a 
silent walk among the lofty aisles before the 
gates should close ; but the scene was very 
different. In the morning it was a jubilee : 



SEVILLA 



89 



the French were said to be approaching ; and 
it was now a supplication. The seats of the 
choir were full ; the altar blazed with lamps ; 
the priests were arrayed in their most sacred 
vestments. Between the ballustrades which 
connect the choir and the altar, was a kneel- 
ing multitude, mostly of females, whilst the 
men crowded near the railings, clambered on 
the bases of the pillars, or knelt at a distance, 
even when excluded from every view of the 
altar. All the women were in one posture, 
all in one costume ; kneeling, the body 
somewhat drawn backward, the head, half 
enveloped in the mantle, somewhat inclined ; 
all were silent, all were devout. On this in- 
teresting group was thrown the doubtful 
light of setting day, mixed with the pale 
splendour of the lamps which blazed before 
the altar, and torches, purposely placed far up 
the pillars. When the organs and the full 
choir united in a deep and solemn tune ; 
when the priest held on high the sacred 
wafer; when the multitude struck themselves 
on the breast, and many even with tears 
confessed themselves guilty in the sight of an 
all-pure Being ; it was no longer a mummery, 
a deception, nor even a superstition ; it was a 
people with one voice, with one accord, and 



§0 SEVXLLA. 

with the same rites, devoutly imploring the 
protection of God in a most interesting crisis 
of their fate, to preserve all that was dear to 
them as a nation, as individuals, and as Chris- 
tians. 

In this cathedral a simple tablet records 
the birth and death of Christoval Colon, or 
as we call him, Christopher Columbus. Spain 
cannot claim the honour of affording a shelter 
even to the bones of this great man, which, 
after lying for some time in the convent of 
Santa Maria de las Cuevas, were transferred 
across the Atlantic, to the new world which 
he had discovered. Had they been trans- 
mitted to this convent as the bones of some 
holy idler, who a thousand years ago had 
spent his useless life on the top of a column, 
the summit of a mountain, or in the brown 
and barren wilderness, the monks of Santa 
Maria would almost have suffered martyrdom 
before parting with such a precious relique ; 
or had they been deprived of them, by a 
pious fraud, other bones equally efficacious 
would have been substituted in their place* 
But what are the bones of Columbus, when 
compared with the arm of Saint Bartholomew, 
the shin-bone of Saint Sebastian, or the 
finger of Saint Bias ? How striking a pic- 

3 



SEVILLA 



ture of human nature ! I see the banks of 
the Guadalquivir crowded with spectators, 
the churches with suppliants, the air thronged 
with banners, and even Kings and Queens 
bending the knee to heaven, in favour of 
three small vessels which- gaily decked out, 
are gliding down the stream. For a long- 
time there are no tidings, but after many days 
they return, and announce a new hemisphere 
added to the Spanish Empire, The temples 
are again filled with a joyful croud, the air is 
rent with acclamations, and Columbus is the 
greatest of men. Yet in a few years I behold 
this great man in disgrace; his remains are in 
a manner expelled from Spain, and long ere 
this, have mingled with the dust of the new 
world, which does not even bear his name i 

In this respect, his son, Fernando Colon, 
has been more fortunate. After many 
voyages, his bones rest in peace beneath the 
pavement of the cathedral, behind the choir. 
A long inscription records his many excel- 
lencies, which, perhaps, were he alive, he 
would blush to see so near the simple tablet 
of his father. He was, however, the founder 
of the great library attached to the cathedral, 
and many of the most valuable books were 
collected by himself in different parts of the 



SEVILLA. 



world. This library contains some very 
ancient manuscripts, and is on the whole, 
perhaps, one of the most valuable at present 
existing in Spain. As if the fame of litera- 
ture were not sufficient for a library, the 
sword of Don Garci Perez de Vargas has 
been added to the collection. The said sword 
addresses you in a few bad verses attached to 
it, calls itself the eighth wonder of the world, 
the cutter of Moorish throats, and the gainer 
ofSevilla. It is, however, a noble weapon, 
although now nearly overgrown with rust, of 
excellent temper, and when wielded by the 
vigorous arm of Garci Perez de Vargas, may 
no doubt have produced a terrific effect amid 
the slender scyrhetars of the Moors. 

Having thus surveyed the interior of the ca- 
thedral,letuscastaslightgIanceuponits courts, 
and its famous Giralda. Of the first the most 
remarkable is El Pa>tio de los Naranjos, or the 
Court of Orange Trees, on the western side, 
planted with rows of orange trees. In an 
angle of this court is a pulpit of stone, of 
considerable antiquity, and respected as 
having been preached in by many Saints ; 
and in another part three iron grates cover * 
the entrances of subterraneous passages, 
where the Moors ares supposed to have had 



SEVILLA. 93 

their baths for purification, before entering 
their great mosque. Another small court is 
before the gate of the Lizard, so called from 
the figure of a crocodile suspended there, in 
remembrance of one sent as a present from 
the Soldan of Egypt to Alphonso the Wise. 
The other courts are before the tower of 
the Giralda, and the principal front towards 
the Guadalquivir, and are in a manner part 
of the town. The tower of the Giralda, how- 
ever, is the boast of Sevilla, and the modem 
Spaniard scruples not to glory in a work cre- 
ated by his Saracen ancestors, of whom, on 
most other occasions, he affects to talk with 
contempt and abhorrence. 

It is a tower of about two hundred and 
sixty feet in height, each of the sides upwards 
of fifty feet in breadth, and surmounted by a 
female figure of bronze, carrying in one hand 
a palm branch, and in the other what appears 
either a shield or a standard. The weight of 
the whole is thirty- four quintals, yet it turns 
round, as the Sevillians tell you, with the 
slightest breeze. This tower was built by 
Geber, the Moor, a native of Sevilla. The 
ascent to its summit is on the inside, and 
remarkably gradual, being from side to side on 
a slope, and without steps, so that a person 



34 



SEVILLA 



may easily ascend upon horseback. I wished 
to approach the Giralda, but was informed 
that it was now considered dangerous to 
proceed higher than the bells., which are 
twenty-four in number, and some of consi- 
derable magnitude. From this height, how- 
ever, there is a fine view of Sevilla and the 
surrounding country to a great distance. 
To the south and south-south-west beneath 
\is lies the Alcazar, whilst beyond the plain 
appears unbounded, and we trace almost to 
the edge of the horizon the distant windings 
of the Guadalquivir, as it approaches to the 
sea. To the west, on the opposite side of 
the river, the view is soon bounded by a ridge 
of no great height, adorned with houses and 
plantations, at the farthest skirt of which 
we behold Santiponce, the ancient Italica. 
Beneath oar feet lies the Court of Orange 
Trees, and a little farther on the same side of 
the river, the amphitheatre where the bull- 
fights were formerly celebrated. To the 
north are the skirts of the Sierra Morena, 
and various sights of the Guadalquivir as it 
approaches Sevilla. To the north-east ex- 
tends a boundless plain, gradually rising into 
gentle elevations as we approach towards the 
east ; in which direction we behold beneath 



SEVILLA 



95 



us the gate, the road, and the aqueduct of 
Carmona. 

At this season the whole of the immense 
plain of Sevilla was beautifully green, and 
thickly interspersed with plantations of olive 
and orange trees. The Guadalquivir also 
was yet filled with the last of the winter 
rains, and the whole landscape possessed that 
union of the great and the beautiful which 
Spain in general offers only for a short and 
fleeting period. 

Next to the cathedral, the Alcazar is, per- 
haps, the public building most worthy of 
notice. It is at no great distance from the 
former, towards the south, and was first built 
by the Moorish king Abdalasis, sixty seven 
years before the conquest of Sevilla by Ferdi- 
nand. In the year 1364 it was nearly 
finished, and although carried on under 
Christian monarchs, the Moorish style, or 
modification of it, has been in general pre- 
served. Its courts, its halls, its Arabic co- 
lumns, recesses, and galleries, present by far 
the finest specimens of the Saracen taste 
which I had yet seen in Spain, and form an 
excellent introduction to the superior glories 
of the Alhambra. Among these the Syrian 
Hall, formerly called the Half Orange, from 



QQ S&vittA. 

the form of its roof, and now the Hall of 
Ambassadors, is particularly worthy of at- 
tention,, from the great variety of its or- 
naments, its gilding, and its marble pave- 
ment. Several halls are appropriated to the 
reception of paintings, statues, and models, 
for the use of the students of the Academy of 
Drawing. Here also are preserved various 
inscriptions, illustrative of the former state 
of Andalusia. From these halls we enter the 
garden-?, which are still in the Moorish style, 
with fountains, terraces, and labyrinths, and 
grotesque figures formed of myrtle, a style 
once general all over Europe, and which 
English good sense has been the first to ex- 
plode. 

The Royal Manufactory ofTobacco is alarge 
building, not unworthy of notice, being about 
two hundred yards in length, and surrounded 
on three sides by a deep ditch. Within are 
twenty-four courts, twenty-one fountains, ten 
wells, and upwards of eighty square pits, 
which serve for the manufacture of tobacco, 
considered as so valuable a source of revenue 
by the former Spanish Government. The 
mills are worked by upwards of one hundred 
horses, and fourteen hundred persons here 
found regular employment. The first cost of 



SEVILLA 



97 



this building, which amounted to nearly two 
millions of dollars, the immense expence at 
which the establishment has been maintained, 
and the numerous abuses arising from it, all 
tend to add fresh proofs to those which Spain 
already furnishes in too great a number, of 
the folly of Kings and Governments becom- 
ing manufacturers and traders. 

The Custom-house, the Mint, the Amphi- 
theatre for Bull-fights, and the Cannon Foun- 
dery, are the principal remaining public 
buildings worthy of notice. The last is at 
this crisis particularly interesting, as being the 
only foundery of the kind at present held by 
the Spaniards. Except the noble foundery of 
Barcelona, now in possession of the enemy, 
there is not another in Spain. The artillery 
cast here is admirable, and entirely of bronze, 
the Spaniards seldom making use of iron guns, 
either by sea or land. 

Having one day taken refuge from a shower 
under the arcades of the church of St, Juan 
de la Palma_, my attention was engaged by an 
inscription on the wall, in Arabian characters* 
Whilst contemplating it, a Spaniard accosted 
me, and asked if I wished to know the 
meaning of it ; having answered in the affir- 
mative, he informed me that he could procure 

G 



Q8 



SEVILLA. 



me a translation of it from a learned friend j 
and which, according to him, was as follows : 
" This is the great temple of Saint John, 
rebuilt by Axataf, King of Sevilla, by order 
of the great Miramamolin, and endowed by 
Muley Almanzor, King of Ecija, in the year 
1020, there being at that time a dreadful 
pestilence in Spain/' Various inscriptions of 
this nature are preserved in several of the 
churches and convents. 

In some of the streets of Sevilla are small 
wooden crosses fastened to the wall, and 
beneath them a rude painting of a murdered 
man, and an inscription desiring all good 
Christians to pray to God for the soul of the 
deceased, I had never been in a Spanish 
town without seeing similar crosses, but it 
was here that I for the first time beheld ex- 
planatory pictures attached to these bloody 
signals. This, however, cannot surely be the 
season for murder. It is only the middle of 
February, but the gentle influence of Spring 
begins to be felt ; the air is mild, the fields 
are green, and the trees are covered with 
buds. Man cannot remain insensible amid 
the general rejoicing of nature. Although the 
Theatres be shut, yet towards evening the 
Castanet and the guitar are heard in every 
street, and children are seen dancing - the 



SEVILLA. 



99 



fandango before the doors of the poor people, 
and along the banks of the Guadalquivir. 
When we behold this dance among the lower 
classes, divested of the allurements of dress 
and the pomp of theatres, it is impossible to 
mistake its allusions or its origin. The 
favourite dances of the negroes on the Afri- 
can coast, of the modern Egyptians, and 
those practised within the walls of the harems 
of the east, might doubtless all be traced to 
the same source. The minuet, once so pre- 
valent in Europe, is, perhaps, only a modifica- 
tion of it, and among a voluptuous or cor- 
rupted people would soon become nothing 
else but a slow fandango. 

The Guadalquivir is one of the boasts of 
Spain, and the favourite stream of the Spanish 
poets. It was known to the Romans under 
the appellation of Tartesus, and subsequently 
of Betis, from which latter the whole pro- 
vince derived its ancient name. When the 
Moors got possession of Andalusia, they 
changed the name to Guadalquivir, signify- 
ing in Arabic, Rio Grande, or Great River, 
a title which the Spaniards are still fond of 
applying to the rivers of the new w r orld. It 
rises near the eastern borders of Andalusia, 
in a branch ojf the great Sierra Morena, and 

g 2 



100 



SEVILLA. 



traverses the greater part of the provi nee, in 
a Westerly direction, passing by Baeza, An- 
dujar, and Cordoba ; soon after which it turns 
to the south, and being greatly increased by 
the junction of the Genii,, near Palma, runs 
with considerable rapidity past Sevilla, and 
falls into the sea at San Lucar de Barrameda. 
The Spaniards reckon the distance from its 
source to San Lucar, including its windings, 
to be about two hundred and fifty miles. 
Vessels of two hundred tons burthen can 
Navigate as high as Sevilla, small vessels to 
Cantillana, and boats to Cordoba, above 
which it becomes in the summer time a stream 
of small importance. 

If Sevilla derives great advantages from the 
Guadalquivir, it has also at times sustained 
great injury from it. As this river derives its 
origin among mountains, and is swelled 
throughout the whole of its course by moun- 
tain streams, in winter, after heavy rains, or 
towards the spring, after thaws, it is liable to 
sudden overflowings of its banks. A long 
succession of disasters is recorded in the 
annals of 3 -.villa, as arising to the city from 
this source. Some are traced as far back as 
the twelfth century ; and even as late as 1 784, 
the greater part of the city near the river 



SEVILLA. 



101 



was endangered by the sudden rise of the 
waters, which in some of the streets was at 
the depth of eight or nine feet ; many of the 
gates were injured, the city walls weakened, 
convents and monasteries partly destroyed, 
and the whole town full of consternation. 
Sevilla is still every season subject to the re- 
turn of a similar calamity. 

The only bridge over the river at Sevilla is 
a floating one of wood, placed upon ten large 
flat barks, firmly moored to great anchors in 
the bed of the stream, and connected with 
one another by strong beams ; the whole is 
strengthened by thick chains of iron fastened 
to the banks : the flooring of the bridge is 
purposely laid very unevenly, in order that in 
rainy weather the horses and beasts of bur- 
then may not slip ; a mode very inconve- 
nient to the foot passengers, and not very 
likely, I should conceive, to fulfil the end for 
which it is designed. The Sevillians have 
also taken considerable pains to adorn the 
banks of the river with trees, but not to the 
extent that was originally proposed, or that-is 
still practicable. Their finest walks, how- 
ever, are under the shade of those elms which 
have been planted for that purpose, and hence 
in time they may be induced to persevere in 



102 SEVILLA. 

a plan at once so useful and ornamental. The 
principal alameda, or walk, is planted with 
upwards of a thousand trees, the shade of 
which in summer must be delightful. At 
one end are two lofty pillars, on which are 
placed the statues of Hercules and Julius 
Caesar ; the one the reported founder, the 
other the restorer of this city ; and the walk is 
further beautified by five or six fountains of 
excellent water. 

Animated by the bright example of Zara- 
goza, the Sevillians appeared determined on 
resistance, should the French succeed in 
defeating Cuesta's army, and forcing the 
passes of the Sierra Morena. Three English 
engineers had arrived from Gibraltar, the 
plans of fortification and defence had been 
settled with the Junta, and some of the field 
works were already in a state of forwardness. 
During a short period of enthusiasm, all ranks 
appeared eager to engage in this duty ; but in 
a little time it devolved chiefly on the aged 
labourers, who received a stated pay, whilst 
the more active were rudely disciplined and 
sent off to the army. The beautiful plain of 
Sevilla afforded an admirable field of exercise 
for the squadrons of cavalry ; but in surveying 
their evolutions, there appeared little worthy 



SEVILLA 



103 



of notice, except the beauty of some of the 
horses, the silent patience of the men, and 
the extreme ignorance of the officers* 

In short, although Sevilla be no longer 
what it was in the days of its splendour, if 
many of its suburbs have disappeared, if 
others have greatly diminished in extent, and 
if even within the circuit of its ancient walls 
strong traces of depopulation appear, it is still 
a city highly worthy of attention. Inde- 
pendently of its cathedral, its alcazar, its 
public buildings, and the remembrance which 
it awakens of the greatest and most innocent 
of conquerors ; the traveller is amply repaid 
for all his fatigues by a single glance over the 
immense and beautiful plain in which it 
stands ; by a sight of the rolling Guadal- 
quivir which bathes its walls ; and by one 
survey of these walls themselves, in excellent 
preservation, and forming perhaps the most 
perfect specimen in Europe of the ancient sys- 
tern of fortification, inclosing a city of such 
importance and extent. With this opinion of 
Sevilla, after a residence of about a week,, 
spent in almost continual observation, I pre- 
pared to quit it. During all my former jour- 
nies in Spain I had constantly travelled on 
horseback, but I now determined to alter 



104 



SEVILLA. 



this mode, so well calculated for dispatch, 
and for taking a rapid survey of the leading 
features of a country. I agreed with a mule- 
teer to take me with my portmanteau to 
Cordoba, for five dollars ; a mode of travel- 
ling which I was informed was perfectly safe, 
and that appeared well suited to the design 
which I had of surveying more closely the 
manners of the Andalusian peasantry. On 
the afternoon of the l6th of February I 
repaired to the gate of Carmona, where I 
found the muleteers and their cattle already 
collected. My portmanteau was placed on 
one side of the back of a mule, and balanced 
on the other with a large bundle of Bacalao, 
or salt fish. I rode upon an ass without a 
bridle, with my pistols, my cloak, and my 
leathern wine-bottle, fastened to the pum- 
mel of my sadle. A woman, who was also 
going to Cordoba, sat in a kind of chair on 
the back of another ass ; and about three 
o'clock, the principal carrier having given the 
signal, the whole procession, consisting of 
live or six men, and nearly forty mules and 
asses, moved on along the road of Carmona. 



ROUTE TO CORDOBA 



105 



CHAP. V. 

Route from Sevilla, through Ervizo, Car- 
mona, La Campana, Posadas, and by 
Almodovar , to Cordoba. ' 

From the gate of Carmona, the aque- 
duct of that name extends along the right 
of the road in a succession of narrow arches 
in the Moorish style, and of no great height. 
These arches are upwards of four hundred ia 
number, gradually decreasing in height as 
they recede from Sevilla, until the elevation 
of the ground is such as to permit the water 
to run in subterraneous channels, which 
in some situations are nearly one hundred 
feet beneath the surface. The principal 
springs from which this water is derived, rise 
at the foot of a small hill near Alcala de 
Guadaira, at the distance of two leagues to 
the eastward. 

Having got clear of the arches, we find 
ourselves on the vast plain of Sevilla, and 
discern at a great distance on the right a 



106 BOUTE TO CORDOBA. 



detached group of mountains rising on the 
verge of the horizon, like an island in the sea. 
At this season nothing could surpass the 
beautiful appearance of the plain, covered 
with fields of rising corn and olive planta- 
tions. Here and there some of the later 
kinds of trees stoo'd, yet bare of leaves, and 
presented striking contrasts to the universal 
green which surrounded them. As we pro- 
ceeded, the fields became less cultivated, and 
the hedges were in general of aloes mixed 
with pines. It was dark before we reached 
Ervizo, a stage of four leagues from Sevilla, 
and a place of about five hundred houses. 
The mules were all unloaded, and their bur* 
thens piled up together at one end of a hall 
paved with rough- stones, which occupied the 
whole length of the house. At the other 
end was the fire-place, where the mistress 
of the house, expecting our arrival, was alrea- 
dy busy in preparing our supper of salt fish, 
eggs, and oil. After supper, each of the 
muleteers spread out the furniture and saddles 
of his mules for a bed ; whilst for me a few 
bundles of straw were laid side by side over 
the stones, on which, wrapped up in my cloak, 
I slept soundly till the morning. 

It was eight o'clock on the 17 th before our 



fcOUTE TO CORDOBA. 10? 



caravan was completely in motion. The 
first part of our road was through a country 
of continued hills and dales, cultivated in 
patches of beautiful green, amid vast tracts 
of wild and barren land. As we approach 
Carmona, a stage of two long leagues, the 
soil is in general of a sandier nature, but 
more extensively cultivated. This part of 
the country appeared to be remarkably desti- 
tute of water ; I did not observe a single 
brook all this morning. Near the road side 
was a peasant girl selling water ; and a Spanish 
soldier being drinking at the same time, I 
went up to follow his example : having drank 
a goblet full, I was proceeding to pay for it, 
but the girl informed me that the Senor who 
had just walked on had paid for me. This 
is a custom very common among all ranks in 
Spain, towards those whom they perceive to 
be strangers ; it is meant to give an exalted 
idea of the generosity and magnificence of 
the Spanish character ; and the traveller will 
sometimes be surprised to find his dinner paid 
for at a public table by some unknown, who 
has Jeft the house, whom he most probably 
will never see again, and whose very name is 
concealed from him. In the present instance, 
however, I did not long remain indebted to 



108 



C ARM OKA. 



my bare-legged benefactor ; he being on foot 
I speedily overtook him ; and although he po- 
sitively refused to accept of money, he allowed 
me to discharge the obligation, by a long 
draught out of my leathern bottle, which 
came away very lank from his embrace. 

In approaching Carmona on this side, the 
ascent is gradual ; and it is only after passing 
through the town that we begin to form a 
proper idea of its romantic situation. It is 
seated on the centre and highest part of a 
long and narrow ridge, here broken into 
many inequalities, and which declines by 
terraces towards the south till it mingles gra- 
dually with the plain. On the eastern side 
the ridge is steep, and from it we have an 
extensive view over immense plains, bounded 
in the horizon by detached groups of moun- 
tains. On the northern side stands the Al- 
cazar, or castle, or rather the ruins of one, 
apparently built by the Romans, on the 
steepest summit of the ridge, and which must 
formerly have commanded the whole of the 
town, although now entirely neglected, and 
fast falling to decay. The gate towards Se- 
villa is also evidently of Roman construction, 
and many traces of that people exist in various 
parts of the town. Medals are stilt frequently 



CARMONA. IOC) 

dug up here, chiefly with the head of Her- 
cules or of Bacchus on one side, and on 
> the reverse, two ears of corn, denoting the 
great fertility of the surrounding country. 
In the wars between Caesar and Pompey, 
Carmona made a great figure, and in return 
for its close adherence to the fortunes of the 
former, was afterwards rewarded by him with 
many valuable privileges. 

The tower of the principal church is evi- 
dently built in imitation of that of Sevilla, 
having also its Giralda on the top. The 
whole is on a scale so much smaller, that it 
suffers greatly by the comparison which we 
are thus involuntarily obliged to form between 
them in our own minds. The Alameda, or 
Prado, is also inferior to those of Sevilla in 
extent, in the number of trees, and from the 
want of a river like the Guadalquivir, or even 
of any description ; but it greatly excels in its 
romantic situation, on the summit *of a na- 
tural mound, which juts out into a deep val- 
ley, and commands a prospect over immense 
and fertile plains. 

After passing through Carmona, we im- 
mediately begin to descend towards the plains, 
by an excellent road, winding near the foot 
of the broken precipice on which stands ths 



110 



CARMONA 



remains of the castle ; immense masses, de- 
tached from the body of the mountain, are 
here scattered about, and appear like the ruins 
of ancient towers, adding to the ruggedness 
and the interest of the scene. It is here that 
we behold the strength and importance of 
the position of Carmona in a military point 
of view ; although the ' inhabitants do not 
■appear as yet to have made the smallest pre- 
parations for d be ; the) are content with 
furnishing their quota to tne armies, and seem 
to consider the danger as much too remote to 
render any farther exertion necessary. The 
population of Carmona may be computed at 
from twelve to fifteen thousand souls, ana in 
the olive season nearly one hundred oil-mills 
are said to be in constant employment. 

In descending the hill, we observed an the 
top of a small rock, an oblong stone, on 
which stands a cross. This stone has all 
the appearance of having bean a Roman 
altar % and on one side has a long inscription, 
which I could not approach near enough to 
read, or even to discern whether the charac- 
ters were Grecian or Roman. Its situation, 
and its cross, will, however, doubtless long 
preserve it for the examination of future tra^ 
vellers. Having descended into the plain, I 



CARMONA. 



Ill 



noticed with pleasure, that in one direction, 
as far as the eye could reach, the ground was 
covered with rising corn, or immense planta- 
tions of beans, the blossoms of which already 
began to perfume the air. In other places, 
the ploughs were all at work ; and close to the 
road I observed the singular spectacle of 
twenty-four ploughs all ploughing in the 
same field, and indeed almost in the same line: 
these were miserably constructed, each drawn 
by two oxen directed by the ploughman, who 
for that purpose held in one hand a long stick, 
armed at one end with a goad, and at the 
other witji a small spade for clearing the 
coulter. It is hardly possible to conceive a 
ruder instrument for scratching the earth, or 
one which more clearly denotes the small 
share which Spain has taken in the general 
improvement of Europe for the last three 
centuries. From the state of agriculture in 
any country we may always form a tolerable 
estimate of the general degree of intelligence 
among the inhabitants. It is true that a ter- 
ritory may be well cultivated, when a nation 
is already on the decline ; but wherever we 
observe agriculture in a rude state, and con- 
ducted on bad principles, we may be certain 
that the same want of intelligence pervades all 



CARMONA 



the other most important branches of na- 
tional industry, or national exertion. 

After leaving the heights of Carmona, the 
country extends, on both sides of the road 
in a perfect flat, for nearly two leagues ; at 
the end of that distance, after crossing a small 
stream, we quitted the high road, and began 
to ascend by gentle elevations to the left. 
Here we were met by a long column of French 
prisoners, guarded by a body of Andalusian 
peasantry, and on their march to Sevilla* 
The advantages of discipline and of mar- 
shalled ranks being now of no avail to these 
prisoners, I had an opportunity of observing 
together the materials, as it were, of which 
the hostile armies were formed. To judge 
from this specimen, the advantage was on the 
side of the Spaniards, both for strength and 
general appearance : but perhaps the effects 
produced on one side by the pride of guard- 
ing prisoners, and on the other by something 
of despondency, were sufficient in this in- 
stance to prevent me from forming a correct 
estimate. 

After leaving the high road, our path led 
for some time up and down several bare 
ridges without any symptoms of cultivation, 
and destitute of natural beauty. By degrees, 

5 



LA CAMPANA. 



113 



however, these ridges began tb exhibit 
patches of cultivated ground, and small 
woods ; and we came at length to a beautiful 
and open country, apparently of great na- 
tural fertility. It was almost a plain/or at 
most diversified by gentle wavings, although, 
by the views all round, it was evident that 
we had imperceptibly risen to a considerable 
height. In many spots the winter rains had 
formed small lakes, which were now fast dry- 
ing up, while their former extent was clearly 
marked by a border of deeper green than 
that of the surrounding plains, or by white 
flowers, which grew so close upon the brink 
that it might seem doubtful whether they 
were encroaching upon the lake, or the 
water rising upon them. As we passed, 
great flocks of wild geese, ducks, and other 
species of water fowl, got up and stretched 
through the air in long slender columns, 
while the plover made only short flights, and 
the stork, more used to man, remained 
unscared, or stalked along a few paces. 

At the distance of a league we discerned La 
Campana, our destined abode for the night, 
pleasantly situated at the extremity of the 
plain, and presenting with its church tower^ 
a very romantic appearance. As we ap- 

H 



LA CAMP ANA* 



proach we find the neighbouring country to 
be well cultivated, and at this season nothing 
could exceed the promising appearance of the 
crops, in all directions. 

As the sun had not yet set when we 
reached Campana, I had sufficient leisure t& 
walk through its streets, and survey the 
church, which contains nothing remarkable. 
As this place is entirely out of the common 
route from Sevilla to Cordoba, or indeed of 
any high road, the curiosity of the inhabi- 
tants was greatly excited by the appearance 
of an English stranger ; although at first my 
dress, and the attention with which I seemed 
to be observing every thing round me, had 
created very unfavourable suspicions. Near 
the church I was stopped, at the instigation of 
a priest ; but no sooner were my passports 
found to be correct, than I was asked, in the 
Spanish style, if there was any thing in the 
place which I wanted. Still, however, there 
appeared here more suspicion of a stranger 
than I had anywhere seen in Spain, and I 
was repeatedly asked, in rather an alarming 
tone, why I made so many observations, and 
asked so many questions. In the evening, as 
usual, I sat down with the muleteers to 
supper, which consisted of wild asparagus 



ROUTE TO CORDOBAo 115 



fried with oil, garlick, and eggs. The frying- 
pan was put on the table, and one of the 
company supporting the handle on his shoul- 
der, each produced his spoon, and all ate 
together in great harmony. After supper a 
few bundles of straw were laid down for me, 
on which, as before, I slept, wrapped up in 
my cloak. x 

On the 18 th, at sun-rise, we left La Cam- 
pana, and soon reached a broken country, 
covered with underwood and small trees, 
mostly of the wild olive. Wherever the 
ground had been cleared, or the small pools 
of winter had dried up, were spots of the 
most lively green, or covered with beautiful 
flowers. The coolness of the morning air, 
and the leaves still rich with the dews of night, 
rendered this part of the road delightful ; and 
I used the advantage which the slow paces of 
the mules afforded me of proceeding on 
foot. This was, indeed, my general mode 
of travelling, and during the whole of this 
journey, except in marshy ground, or in 
crossing brooks and small rivers, my patient 
companion was seldom troubled With my 
weight. Having proceeded a league and a 
half, we beheld Pennafior about four miles 
to the lefjt- close upon the Guadalquivir, 
- H 2 



116 



ROUTE TO CORDOBA. 



which river however we could not yet see* 
the banks being here mostly overgrown with 
trees. Pennaflor is supposed to be the Ilipa 
of the ancients, and as far as which Strabo 
informs us, small vessels might ascend the 
Guadalquivir. Proceeding another half league, 
we arrive in sight of Palma, most pleasantly 
situated on a plain between the Guadal- 
quivir and the Genii, and at the junction of 
these two rivers. As we descend from the 
heights, towards the Genii, we lose sight of 
the town, which is screened from us by ex- 
tensive plantations of orange trees, which 
cover the opposite bank of that river. It is 
here that the greater part of the oranges 
exported from Sevilla are raised, the river 
affording an easy mode of conveyance, unfor- 
tunately but too rare in Spain. The trees 
were now covered with bright green leaves, 
with golden fruit, and with white blossoms, 
all at the same time, and the air, even on the 
side of the river where we were, was per- 
fumed with fragrance. Close above Palma 
we crossed the Genii, in a flat-bottomed boat, 
which carried about one third of our mules at 
a time, and after winding round the skirts of 
the town, soon came in sight of the Guadal- 
quivir, which did not here appear much su- 

5 



ROUTE TO CORDOBA. 



117 



perior to the Genii. How greatly, indeed, it 
is indebted to this latter river is evident from 
the circumstance of small vessels not being 
able to proceed higher than Pennafior, a little 
below the junction of the two streams. The 
countrv from Palma is a continued flat for 

it 

some distance, of a tolerably fertile soil, but 
badly and partially cultivated. Beans seemed 
to be the principal object of culture, and 
from the immense extent of some of the 
fields, must form a chief article, either in the 
food of the peasantry, or for transporting to 
Sevilla. On our first approach to the Gua- 
dalquivir, I observed the banks to be of no 
great height, but steep and sandy, like those 
of the Guadiana near the borders of Por- 
tugal. By degrees however they assumed 
a bolder character, and we ascended consider- 
able heights composed of a mixture of sand 
and clay, at the base of which the river 
rushed along with great impetuosity. At a 
considerable distance to the left, and high 
among the mountains forming a branch of 
the Sierra Morena, we had a charming view 
of Hornachuelo, romantically situated be- 
tween two deep ravines, which join like 
rivers in its front. Its elevated situation, its 
remoteness from all common tracks, and 



118 



POSADAS. 



the dry gulphs which almost surround it, 
and which seem destined to seclude it from 
any intercourse with the plains, open to us 
the idea of interesting tracks in the moun- 
tains behind it, where travellers have never 
yet penetrated. From the heights we had a 
yiew of Posadas, a poor place of about three 
hundred houses, and where we were to pass 
the night. We soon descended to a small but 
well cultivated plain, and arrived on the banks 
of the Guadalquivir, which we crossed in the 
same manner as the Genii, in a flat boat. 

Immediately on, the opposite side the 
bank rises steep, and at the top of it 
stands the village of Posadas. Here the 
curiosity of the people at the sight of a 
stranger, which was even greater than that 
shewn at La Campana, tended still more to 
convince me that we were travelling a road 
but very little frequented. Scarcely had we 
arrived at the Posada when I was surrounded 
by people of all classes, who under various 
prgfeences, asked me a hundred questions, and 
examined minutely my cloak, my dress, and 
my English saddle. On my account a better 
supper was prepared than I had met with 
since leaving Sevilla. Five or six rabbits 
were broiled upon the embers, then pulled to 



POSADAS. 113 

pieces, put into a large wooden bowl, and 
over all was poured hot water, mixed with 
oil, vinegar, garlick, pimento, and salt. As 
usual we all sat down together, a large lea- 
thern bottle holding about three quarts was 
filled with tolerable wine, and being entrusted 
to one of the company to act as our Gany- 
mede, the repast began. For some time 
hunger prevented all conversation, but our 
cupbearer performed his office with such 
dexterity, that before supper was finished 
our bottle was emptied, and the Andalusian 
peasant began to shew himself in all his 
vivacity. It was voted unanimously that the 
bottle should be replenished. They talked 
loud, they laughed, they sang, they cursed 
the French, and swore that even should all 
the rest of Spain be overrun, Andalusia was 
sufficient to protect itself from every invader* 
On a sudden a fierce quarrel arose : high 
words passed, knives were drawn, and I 
expected to see our supper end in bloodshed ; 
when the hostess, after various vain attempts 
to allay the storm, began to repeat the even- 
ing service to the Virgin. Immediately all 
was calm, the knives were sheathed, all hats 
were off, and at each pause the whole assem- 
bly murmured forth the response, and de~ 



120 POSADAS. 

voutly made the sign of the cross. As often 
as the quarrel seemed likely to be renewed, 
the good woman had recourse to the same 
expedient, and always with the same success, 
until the anger of the parties being wearied 
out rather than assuaged, we broke up in 
silence if not in friendship. These Andalu- 
sians are certainly a strange, good-natured, 
irascible, fickle, lively kind of a race. On 
the ensuing morning I expected to see some 
traces of a quarrel so violent and so recent ; 
but far from it, the parties were now the 
best friends in the world, and, although it 
was Sunday, were very busily engaged 9t a 
game of cards. 

The influence of superstition, and the 
power of the priests, so perceptible in the 
great towns of Spain, become still more ob- 
vious in places thus removed from the com- 
mon track. I observed that the inhabitants 
of Campana and Posadas were particularly 
fearful of refusing the begging friars who 
implored charity for the love of God, or the 
most Holy Virgin, and even seemed to dread 
lest it should be imputed to them as a sin 
that they had it not in their power to give. 
But what particularly interests all feelings, 
and draws forth the last maravedi, is the 



POSADAS 



supplication for delivering souls out of pur- 
gatory. There are particular rites instituted 
by the Church of Rome for effecting this 
great purpose, and money is collected for 
defraying the necessary expenses. The 
sacred mendicant goes round the village, 
looking in at every door, shaking his box, 
and calling out in a mournful tone, cc Las 
Animas," For the Souls. Who knows but 
his own father, or brother, or dearest friend, 
may be at that very moment half emerged 
from the flames,, and only standing in need of 
a few more pence to be released altogether, 
and transported immediately to Abraham's 
bosom ! Does any meagre wretch besitate, 
thinking perhaps of his wife and children, 
for whom he with difficulty procures a scanty 
subsistence ? the fat monk rattles the box 
with holy indignation, and the poor wretch 
either averts his face through shame and 
terror, or to deliver his dead ancestors, draws 
forth a little remnant, which should have 
been applied to the infinitely more sacred 
wants of his half-starved family! 

Our protracted stay at Posadas enabled me 
to witness one of those scenes which mark, 
as it were, the very outskirts of war, and 
affect us more than those of greater horror. 



I : POSADAS* 



A poor woman of the place had been in- 
formed that her only son was killed in battle, 
and she of course had given herself up to 
grief ; but this very morning a peasant arrived 
with certain intelligence, not only that her 
son was living, but that he was actually ap- 
proaching the village, and not above a league 
distant from it* The first shock of these 
good tidings overpowered the mother's feel- 
ings ; she ran out into the street uttering 
screams of joy, and telling every one she 
met that he was not dead., that he was living, 
that he was approaching, that he would soon 
be in his dear mothers house. After some 
time she exclaimed, " Why do J stop here ? 
come away, come away, and meet him," and 
so saying, attired as she was, she hurried into 
the road, and soon disappeared. But how 
different was her return ! Her son lived, but, 
alas ! how changed since last she saw him I 
His arm had been carried away by a cannon- 
ball, the bandages of his wound were dyed 
with blood, he was pale and emaciated, and 
so weak that he was with difficulty supported 
on his ass, in a kind of cradle, by the help of 
a peasant who walked by his side. On the 
other side walked his mother, now looking 
down on the ground, now up to heaven, but 



POSADAS 



123 



chiefly on her son, with anxious eyes, and a 
countenance in which joy and grief, exulta- 
tion and despondency, reigned by turns, or 
were strangely mingled together with all that 
is most interesting in maternal tenderness. I 
must confess that in viewing this scene I 
could with difficulty refrain from tears, and 
even if I had shed a few, I should feel no 
shame in the recollection of them. 

We did not leave Posadas till late in the 
afternoon, the muleteers assigning as a reason 
that they did not wish to enter Cordoba 
before it was dark, lest their cattle should be 
pressed for the use of the army. I ob- 
served also that they left all their money in 
charge of the hostess to keep till their re- 
turn ; and on inquiring the reason, I was 
informed that it was for the purpose of pur- 
chasing wheat. I began then to have some 
suspicion that we were about to enter on a 
dangerous part of the road ; but after setting 
out, the fineness of the afternoon, and the 
view of a highly interesting country, soon 
engrossed my whole attention. Immediately 
after getting clear of Posadas we behold to 
the right the castle of Almodovar on a rocky 
height, which forms the termination of a 
ridge in this direction towards the Guadal- 



124 



ROUTE TO CORDOBA, 



quiver. Below the castle, on the eastern side, 
lies the town of Almodovar, only partially 
seen. From these heights we could clearly 
see Cordoba, at the distance of five leagues, 
the intervening country being almost entirely 
a plain. As the ground was here very broken 
and uneven, and the path so narrow that only 
two mules could go abreast, I made a halt 
on the top of a rock, near an old tower, and 
contemplated our caravan, which formed a 
long winding line, climbing in one part and 
descending in another, here concealed by 
trees and rocks, and there slowly moving 
past the openings. The jingling of the bells 
of the mules, the cries of the carriers, and 
sometimes their songs, now echoed among 
the rocks, and now were lost in the hollows, 
and followed by a perfect silence. In this 
manner we proceeded, crossing a number of 
small streams which ran v* 7 ith great rapidity 
down to the Guadalquivir. Indeed the road 
itself appeared to have been very lately the 
bed of a torrent, being almost entirely co- 
vered with smooth stones. At length we 
arrived at a most romantic glen, at the bottom 
of which flowed the Arroyolo de la Cabrida, 
a stream now of considerable magnitude, and 
which we passed over by a bridge of five lofty 
but narrow arches. The bed of the stream 



ROUTE TO CORDOBA. 125 



was strewed with huge sharp masses of rock, 
among which the water rushed along with a 
hollow sound. Soon after passing this glen 
we got to the open country, and which pre- 
sented few views of any interest, even 
towards the mountains on the left. 

At three leagues from Posadas we made a 
short halt at Cortijo de los Frayles, or Friars* 
Farm,a solitary house, and almost the only one 
in all the distance between Almodovar and 
Cordoba. It was now eight o'clock, and the 
moon, though on the wane, shone with con- 
siderable brightness. After a halt of nearly 
an hour, we pursued our journey over the 
plain. The coolness and silence of the night, 
the evenness of the ground, and the uniform 
pace of our mules, all tended to lull my 
companions nearly to sleep. They nodded 
on their mules, while the ass on which I rode 
had by degrees advanced to the front, and I 
found myself the leader of the whole proces- 
sion. Soon afterwards the moon disappeared 
behind the mountains of the Sierra Morena, 
but even by the pale light of the stars the 
towers of Cordoba were visible at no great 
distance, when two men suddenly rode up to 
me, and pointing their muskets close to my 
head, called out to me in Spanish to stop. 
In the first emotions of my surprise I ex- 



126 BOUTE TO CO&DOBA. 

claimed that I was an Englishman, endea- 
vouring at the same time to get at my pistols, 
which were encumbered with my cloak. " If 
you touch your arms you are dead," cried the 
robber ; " alight instantly, or we fire." In 
this situation, and unsupported by my com- 
panions, I had no alternative but to yield. 
While this was going on, another robber, 
wrapped up in a large black cloak, and who 
appeared to be the captain of the gang, kept 
riding round the party, and driving them 
nearer and nearer together. The muleteers 
called out for mercy ; while the woman by 
turns sobbed aloud, screamed through terror, 
or invoked with tears the protection of Maria 
Santissima. Meantime, having first taken 
away my pistols, the robbers ordered me to 
give up my watch and my money; having done 
which, they asked me if I had nothing more. 
I replied, that I had only some copper coins 
of little value, and which I trusted they 
w T ould leave with me. " Is it only copper ? 
never mind, give it to me," said the pious 
robber, " it will do for las animas." They 
then went round the whole party, and exa- 
mined the burthens of the mules. After 
some time, although I could not see what 
was going on, I heard the ripping of cords, 

2 



BOUTE TO CORDOBA. 12f 

and never doubted that it was my unfortu- 
nate portmanteau which they were cutting 
open, " Behold me/' then said I to myself, 
" in a strange land, without a dollar, a 
change of clothes, or a friend." It was past 
midnight before we were released. The 
robbers disappeared with their booty, after 
strictly questioning the carriers whether I 
really was an Englishman, and we proceeded 
in a kind of mournful silence, the muleteers 
seeming afraid to open their lips, and the 
woman being still in tears. In less than an 
hour we heard the rushing of the GuadaU 
quivir, and soon afterwards arrived under the 
walls of Cordoba. To add to our misfortunes, 
when we reached the gates we found them 
shut, nor could our cries and noise procure 
the least answer or attention. Nothing re- 
mained but to reconcile ourselves to our situ- 
ation. The cattle were unloaded ; and to 
my great joy I discovered my portmanteau, 
which being balanced on the mule by a bun- 
dle of ignoble salt-fish, had by that means 
probably escaped the plunderers. I no longer 
thought of what I had lost, but of what had 
been spared me. A low parapet wall ran 
along the side of the Guadalquivir ; I carried 
my porUnanteau underneath its shelter, to 



128 ROXJTE TO CORDOBA 



serve as a pillow, and being wrapped up in my 
cloak, I stretched myself out upon the ground, 
and was soon lulled to sleep by the rushing 
of the stream ; whilst the woman, still utter- 
ing at intervals deep sighs, and unable to 
close her eyes, kept watch all night close to 
the gates of Cordoba* 



CORDOBA 



129 



CHAP. VI. 

Cordoba. Its situation^antiquity^hridge-^ 
cathedral — views from the old tower. Old 
Cordoba. Saint Raphael — Roman con- 
duits and inscriptions. Spanish soldiery. 

Soon after sunrise the gates were opened* 
and we were conducted before an officer 
appointed by the Junta to examine all pass- 
ports; for which purpose the office is just 
within the walls. He treated the account of 
our having been robbed with very little atten- 
tion^ and told the muleteers, if they had taken 
any of the robbers, they would have been 
entitled to four dollars for each. With this 
consolation we were dismissed ; and after 
much difficulty, on account of the town 
being full of officers and soldiers passing to- 
wards the army at La Carolina, I procured a 
miserable apartment in the Posada del Potro, 
where I remained during my week's residence 
at Cordoba, 

x 



130 



C0HD0BA 



Cordoba lies on the northern bank of the 
Guadalquivir, forming a semicircle, or rather 
a kind of an half oval divided longitudinally, 
and of which the river is the chord. It is 
walled all around, with square towers at inter- 
vals, and the exterior circuit, from the river* 
round to the other side, is about four thou- 
sand yards ; it was formerly, however, of far 
greater extent, and remains of walls and 
towers may still be traced for upwards of half 
a league to the west. At the period of its 
first erection by the Romans, it appears either 
to have been placed farther from the river 
than at present, or to have been divided into 
two parts by a wall, which still exists in many 
places, intersecting the town, and evidently of 
Roman workmanship. Like many other 
cities in Spain, it presents numerous traces of 
various and widely different nations. It was 
founded by Marcus Claudius Marcellus, 
Pretor of Spain, about the year 600 of Rome, 
and was the first Roman colony established 
in Andalusia. It was then dignified with the 
name of the Patrician colony, the principal 
part of the settlers being of the equestrian 
order, an honour almost peculiar to this town, 
and of which the present inhabitants do not 
fail to boast. In point of antiquity and re- 



CORDOBA 



131 



spectability of foundation as a Roman colony, 
Sevilla must yield the palm to Cordoba ; but 
the disputes on these points are violent be- 
tween the two cities, and carried back to pe- 
riods so remote, that they are hardly worth 
the trouble of adjusting. Indeed on the sites 
both of Sevilla and Cordoba, there appear to 
have been towns of some importance long 
prior to the time of the Romans. Silius Itali- 
cus, enumerating the cities of Spain which 
joined Hannibal in the second Punic war, 
mentions Cordoba- — " Nec decus auriferss 
cessavit Corduba terras : M and Strabo informs 
us, that the ancient Spaniards navigated from 
the ocean to Sevilla in large ships, to Ilipa 
(the modern Pennaflor) in smaller vessels, and 
to Cordoba with the river boats, in his time 
framed of boards, but more anciently made of 
trees hollowed out— " Usque Cordubam flu- 
vialibus scaphis iter est : hoc quidem tempore 
compactis, antiquioribus vero seculis cavatis 
arbore lintribus." At one time Cordoba was 
undoubtedly the larger and more flourishing 
of the two ; but such appears to have been 
the rapid progress of Sevilla, and so great 
were its natural advantages, that it by degrees 
outstripped its competitor. In the time of 
the Moors, however, Cordoba was the metro* 

I 2 



132 



CORD OKA 



polis of their empire in Spain, and continued 
for upwards of three hundred years to be the 
Athens of Arabian literature. Here flourish- 
ed Avicenna, the celebrated physician, and the 
constant rival of Mahomed Aben-Rosdien, 
better known in England by the name of 
Averroes ; besides a long list of geometricians, 
poets, and philosophers, forming by far the 
greatest collection of learned and ingenious 
men then in Europe. Even in the time of 
the Romans, Cordoba might boast of being 
the birth-place of Seneca and Lucan ; and it 
it is lamentable to reflect, that these venerable 
and ancient names are all of importance that 
is now left to this city of its literary renown. 
At the western extremity of the town, the 
Guadalquivir is crossed by a stone bridge of 
sixteen arches of various forms and sizes ; no 
two indeed are of the same dimensions, but 
in shape the greater part are semicircular, 
whilst others are elliptical. It was erected 
about the middle of the ninth century, by 
Hi scan ? the first king of that name in Cor- 
doba, as was also a square castle on the oppo- 
site side for a defence to the bridge, which 
still exists in good preservation, and was now 
used for quartering soldiers in their passage 
to the army, In the centre of the .bridge, on 

3 



CORDOBA. ] 33 

one side, is the statue of Saint Raphael; the 
great patron of Cordoba, with an inscription 
recording the declaration which he once 
made of his being appointed for that purpose, 
and of which I shall hereafter speak. Imme* 
diately below the bridge a dam is constructed 
across the river, and two or three low mills 
are erected in the bed, which produce, when 
viewed at a little distance, an effect rather 
singular than beautiful. 

In Cordoba, as in Sevilla, the principal ob* 
ject worthy of attention is the cathedral, more 
perhaps from its antiquity, and the high terms 
m which Spanish historians have spoken of 
it, than its present grandeur, or the interest 
which it possesses. After hearing it com- 
pared with the most valuable monuments of 
Spain, and the grandest of Arabian mosques, 
I lost no time in visiting it, and was struck 
with astonishment and disappointment on 
entering, to find myself suddenly bewildered 
as it were among innumerable low columns, 
mostly with wretched capitals, and without 
bases, connected together in many parts by 
double rows of narrow arches, one above 
the other, between the same line of pillars. 
The triple tier of arches in the great aqueduct 
of Elvas produce a far superior effect by the 



134 



COHDOBA* 



height and mass of the whole. Here the 
view is exactly like that in a thickly planted 
forest of young trees, where, unless you find 
a favourable opening to give you the idea of 
immense extent, there is nothing to convey 
the idea of grandeur. The lofty pillars of 
the cathedrals of Toledo, Segovia, or Sevilla, 
represent the huge oaks of ancient forests, 
whose lofty branches form a noon-day shade; 
whilst in that of Cordoba, the general lowness 
of the roof disgusts us from looking upwards, 
and in a manner compresses our attention to 
the objects immediately around us. As a 
speeimen of the Arabian taste in architecture, 
it is however highly interesting and worthy 
of attention ; it was built by king Abderrhag- 
man, the founder of the Cordobian monar- 
chy, and, taking in the whole exterior, forms 
a quadrangle of nearly eleven hundred feet in 
length, by seven hundred in breadth. In the 
above exterior is included El Patio de Naran- 
jos, or the Orange Court, which measures 
about four hundred and fifty feet by two 
hundred and twenty, and beneath which is a 
great cistern, supported by thick pillars, where 
the Moors used to perform their ablutions 
previously to entering the mosque. This 
Court, as the name implies, is planted with 



CORDOBA* 



135 



orange-trees, among which are mingled a few 
melancholy cypresses, with which the Moors 
still delight to adorn their burying grounds. 
In the centre stands a very ancient palm, a 
tree from which the Arabians probably de- 
rived their ideas of columns. 

The church itself forms a quadrangle of 
about six hundred and fifty feet, by four hun- 
dred and sixty, and the whole of this space 
may be said to be covered with pillars, which 
amount to more than a thousand in number, 
and many of which are of jasper and most 
valuable verde antique. A considerable pro- 
portion of these pillars appears to have been 
formed out of others, belonging to an ancient 
Roman temple of Janus Augustus, which 
occupied nearly the same site as the present 
building; on some of them the beautiful 
capitals have been preserved, while the greater 
part of the rest are crowned with awkward 
Moorish imitations. The choir was built by ' 
the Christian monarchs, after the taking of 
Cordoba from the Moors, which happened 
in 1236. Its^ pillars are somewhat in the 
same style as those of the cathedral of Sevilla, 
the roof being here carried to a greater height 
than it originally was, or now is in the rest of 
the building. This extraneous body serves ta 



136 



CORDOBA* 



render complete the jumble of styles which 
pervades the whole : in vain w 7 e attempt to con- 
sider it apart, or admire the beautiful and in- 
tricate carved work of the seats, the size of 
the organ, or the richness of the altar ; we 
cannot long forget that in its present situa- 
tion it is completely misplaced, nor cease to 
regret that the uniformity of the noblest 
specimen of Moorish religious edifices in 
Spain, should have been disfigured by so pre^ 
posterous an addition. It is mentioned, and 
with great exultation, that this cathedral has 
fifteen doors, while that of Sevilla has only 
nine ; but number of doors is surely a small 
matter of boast, unless accompanied by supe- 
rior elegance or grandeur, which is not the 
case here. The principal gate, called the Gate 
of Pardon, is however of considerable interest, 
being upwards of thirty feet in height, covered 
with carved plates of bronze, a»d full of Ara- 
bic inscriptions; of the latter indeed nume- 
rous examples are found entire, or partly 
mutilated, throughout the building. 

From the summit of the great tower, which 
is connected with the cathedral, and is about 
three hundred feet in height, there is a fine 
view of Cordoba and the surrounding coun- 
try. The city does not appear equal to above 



CORDOBA. 



137 



two-thirds of Sevilla in extent. To the west, 
at the distance of six leagues, we behold the 
castle of Almodovar, crowning a height 
which forms on one side a steep precipice to- 
wards the Guadalquivir, and on the other is 
connected with the ridges of the Sierra Mo- 
rena, which make a curve from thence ap- 
proaching Cordoba on the north, and leaving 
a noble plain between their skirts and the 
Guadalquivir. From the base of the mpun- 
tain of Almodovar to Cordoba, the length of 
this plain is about five leagues, and its breadth 
two, from the lower skirts of the Sierra Mo- 
rena to the Guadalquivir, gradually narrowing 
at both extremities. Looking to the south- 
west, we behold the opening of the valley 
which marks the course of the river, and 
from south-west to nearly north-east, the 
ground rises gradually from the opposite 
bank. It forms there only low ridges of no 
interest, and all the beauties of the prospect 
lie on the northern side of the river, to which, 
as we gradually turn round, we once more 
behold the mountains of the Sierra Morena, 
and beneath our feet the whole town of Cor- 
doba. High up these mountains, and in 
chosen situations, stand several extensive 
monasteries, where pious communities are 



I3S 



COHDOBA. 



still maintained ; and splendid hermitages, 
where men live alone in the sight of all the 
world : but in the more lonely and seques- 
tered spots may still be traced the ruins of 
humble establishments, and solitary cells, 
which the pining devotees have long since 
abandoned, or where those who persevered 
to the end lie buried in eternal oblivion. 

At the distance of a league to the north- 
west, on the edge of the plain, a long white 
line marks the lower boundary of Cordoba 
la Vieja, or Ancient Cordoba, while farther 
up the ascent, another line, more faintly 
traced, shews its limits towards the moun- 
tains. It has been asserted that this was the 
original site of Cordoba before the time of 
the Romans, and that the Guadalquivir then 
flowed nearer to the foot of the hills. That 
the latter is true I do not doubt, but only 
suppositions are advanced in support of the 
former idea : on the contrary, few antiquities 
of importance are discovered in digging with- 
in the circuit of Old Cordoba, nor any re- 
mains of great buildings. — Why should ruins 
of the walls alone exist, while all within their 
circuit has vanished ? It is with more proba- 
bility conjectured to have been a fortress, or 
stationary camp of the Romans, and perhaps 



CORDOBA. 



139 



subsequently of the first Moorish conquer- 
ors, while the fidelity of Cordoba was still 
doubtful ; its form, which is nearly an exact 
oblong, of about five thousand feet by two 
thousand five hundred, almost confirms this 
conjecture. 

When we look down upon the exterior 
roof of the cathedral from the top of this 
tower, it presents an exceedingly mean ap- 
pearance, like rows of poor buildings close 
together and tiled. Indeed the whole of the 
exterior is plain, and the buttresses void of 
beauty ; but this we are told is compensated 
by the interior riches ; and that the roof, 
wdiich appears so plain externally, is com- 
posed of the most valuable and sweet-scented 
woods within. 

Close to the cathedral, and between it and 
the r;ver, stands the Pillar of St. Raphael, 
where rocks, and lions, and tombs, lamps, 
and gilt inscriptions, are heaped together in 
shockingly bad taste. On the top stands a 
gilt image of the guardian angel of Cor- 
doba, to whom temples, paintings, and 
columns, are set up in almost every street. 
The solemn words which he pronounced 
when he appeared to the venerable Father 
Andres de las Roelas, in the year 1578, are 



140 COHDOBA. 

inscribed on a variety of marbles, but perhaps 
still more deeply on the hearts of the grateful 
inhabitants of Cordoba — u Yo te juro por 
Jesu Christo crucificado que soy Rafael angel, 
a quien Dios tiene puesto por Guarda de este 
ciudad." That is, " I swear to you by Jesus 
Christ and him crucified that I am Raphael, 
the Angel whom God has appointed Guardian 
of this city." How consolatory must not 
this declaration be to the citizens, who behold 
it recorded on every side ! It is true that a 
twelvemonth has not elapsed since the army 
of Dupont committed here the most horrible 
excesses, murdering unarmed inhabitants, 
violating women, and profaning temples ; 
yet doubtless that was only permitted for a 
season, as a just punishment for their sins, 
and Raphael afterwards took a great revenge 
at the battle of Baylen. At all events, the 
appearance of this potent archangel to 
Father Andres de las Roelas, and the truth 
of his declaration, are put beyond all doubt 
by the following circumstances. In the first 
place, it was proved to be true by the united 
testimonies of many prelates of holy lives 
and undoubted veracity, before the grand 
notary, in 1602, not more than twenty- four 
years after the event took place, and less 



CORI>0BA. 14) 



than twenty years after the death of 
the most venerable Father to whom the 
important declaration was made. In the 
second place, a great number of witnesses 
testified to the sanctity and veracity of 
the venerable Padre de Roelas, and signed 
their names to that effect to a document 
which is still preserved in the archives of the 
church of St. Peter. It is also proved that 
he shortly afterwards recovered suddenly 
from an illness which all the physicians had 
declared must inevitably cause his death. 
And lastly, the venerable Father himself 
sv^ore to the truth of his statement, " in 
verbo sacerdotis," or upon ths word of a 
priest, which; should any man be miscreant 
enough to doubt, he very justly would be put 
in the inquisition, and perhaps condemned to 
pass the rest of his life in a dungeon under 
ground ! 

But the fact is, that long before this con- 
solatory declaration to de Roelas, it had been 
shrewdly suspected that the angel Raphael 
had the charge of Cordoba ; and it was now- 
soon discovered that he had first appeared to 
the venerable father Scusa, so far back as the 
year 1280. After his second appearance, 
however, the proofs of his interference were 



142 



CORDOBA 



numerous and manifest. In the year 1602, a 
terrible plague, which then desolated the 
city, was immediately stayed by the interces- 
sion of Saint Raphael, as Martin de Roa 
expressly writes. In l6oO the same thing 
hajyened, according to the unimpeachable 
testimony of Don Pedro Mesia de la Cerde i 
and even the old men of the present genera- 
tion are living witnesses of the visible inter- 
ference of the holy archangel in the great 
epidemic fever of 1738, which was instantly 
stopped by a grand procession in his honour. 
It is more especially in storms, however, that 
the archangel has displayed his guardian 
power. It is proved that from time im- 
memorial, although lightning has fallen in 
all directions round, no person has ever yet 
been struck by it in Cordoba. Finally, in the 
great earthquake which happened at ten in 
the morning of the 1st of November 1755, 
whilst in all the neighbouring bishopricks 
more or fewer were killed and hurt by the 
falling of the houses, at Cordoba not one was 
injured, although the earthquake w r as long 
and ' terrible, and even the great tower was 
much damaged, of which it bears evident 
marks to this day. 

Such are the unquestionable proofs of the 



CORDOBA. 143 

truth of one of the most remarkable and 
supernatural events that have taken place 
since the early ages of Christianity. Who 
after this can refuse his belief to a miracle so 
strongly attested, or feel at all surprised that 
the citizens of Cordoba have an annual and 
grand procession in honour of Saint Raphael. 
For my part I have not a single doubt re- 
maining upon the subject, and such I sup- 
pose will be the case with the greater part 
of my readers, after maturely weighing what 
has been alledged. We may perhaps repine 
that no angel, even of subordinate rank, has 
yet appeared to the Bishop of London, or the 
Dean of Westminster, to declare himself the 
guardian of this great city ; but checked in 
our murmuring by the reproach that we are 
but hereticks, we must console ourselves 
with the reflection, that while our metropolis 
is flourishing and extending in all directions^ 
such are the mysteries of providence, Cor- 
doba has gradually declined ever since the 
last appearance of St. Raphael, and unfor- 
tunately exhibits strong symptoms of still 
farther decay ! 

As a proof how 7 sacred the word of a priest 
is, and how great his power, in the Orange 
Court a particular tree is shewn, which was 



COEDOEA. 



planted in the place of one that some hundreds 
of years ago withered on that spot. Before 
the art of printing was discovered, and when 
consequently manuscripts were very valuable, 
a priest had left his bible in the former orange 
tree, among the branches of which he had 
been sitting. Forgetting where he had left 
it, and having made a long and fruitless search 
to discover it, he did not doubt but that 
some one had stolen it from him, and in the 
violence of his just and holy indignation, he 
anathematised the thief in the most solemn 
manner, cursing him by bell, book, and 
candle. On the next morning the innocent 
thief, the unfortunate orange tree, was 
found completely withered and decayed, and 
the bible thus brought to light. " Cosa 
maravillosa !" says the pious Spaniard : " A 
wonderful thing !" and wonderful it certainly 
was ! ! 

That branch of the Sierra Morena to the 
north of Cordoba, running from east to 
west, was known to the Romans under the 
name of Montes Marianas. In these moun- 
tains arise the fine springs of water which 
are brought to the city by very ancient 
conduits, and which supply the public foun* 
tains in a manner at least equal to any other 



CORbOBA, 



145 



city of the same extent in Spain. Of these 
conduits some are in their original state, 
while many others have been evidently re- 
paired by the Moors ; many, on the other 
hand, have gone to decay, although the 
arched roofs, solid masonry, and mortar as 
hard as the stone itself, sufficiently shew how 
important and valuable they once were; whilst 
others, still existing, are in part cut so deep 
into the living rock, and are derived from 
such distant sources, that modern architects 
have in vain endeavoured to discover how far 
they extend into the mountains. 

Besides the remains of the conduits for 
bringing water to the city, many traces still 
exist of the great works for irrigation in vari- 
ous parts of the plain between the mountains 
and the Guadalquivir. The value of water in 
hot climates for the purposes of agriculture 
was well known to the Moors; and it is no 
small reproach to the modern Spaniards, that 
the utmost they have done in any part has been 
to preserve some of these great works, whilst 
they have erected no new ones, and have per* 
mitted others to be nearly obliterated by time. 
All the great plain between Cordoba and Fuen 
Real is full of earthen pipes, and traces of 
small mounds now nearly level with the earth* 

K 



146 CORDOBA. 

The vestiges of the Romans still existing 
are chiefly the remains of the wall which ran 
through the centre of the city, and much of 
the outer walls themselves, scattered columns 
and inscriptions, and many of the pillars of 
the cathedral, said to have belonged to the 
temple of Janus Augustus. Faint traces of 
an amphitheatre are said to exist, but I could 
nowhere discover them. At the gate of the 
cathedral in the Orange Court are twoMillaria, 
dug up near the spot, in excellent preserva- 
tion; the one of the time of Augustus, mark- 
ing the distance from the Betis and the temple 
of Janus to the ocean, as one hundred and 
thirteen, the other of Tiberius, as one hun- 
dred and fourteen miles. The inscription on 
the former is as follows : 

IMP. CAESAR. DIVI. F. J 
AVGVSTVS COS. XIIL TRIB. 
POTEST. XXI. PONTIF. MAX. 
A. BAETE. ET. IANO. AVGVST. 
AD OCEANVM. 

XXIII. 

That on the other runs thus : — 

TI. CAESAR. DIVI. AVGVSTI. F. 
DIVI. IVLI. NEPOS. AVGVSTVS. 
PONTIFEX. MAX. XXL COS. 
V. IMP. TRIB. POTES. XXXVII. 
AB. IANO. AVGVSTO. QVI. EST. 
AD. BAETIM. VSQVE. AD. 
OCEANVM. 

XXIIII* 



CORDOBA, 



14? 



These two inscriptions, and particularly the 
last, leave little doubt as to the ancient 
temple of Janus Augustus having been 
nearly on the same spot as the present cathe- 
dral, which, instead of the temple of Janus 
Augustus on the Betis, might be denomi- 
nated by the Moors the Mosque of Maho- , 
met on the Guadalquivir. 

As the Moorish mosque has usurped the 
place of the Pagan temple, so the present 
bridge over the river is supposed to be built 
upon foundations of the still more ancient 
Roman one, and is evidently in part built of 
Roman materials. It has been contended 
by the advocates for Old Cordoba, that the 
first bridge was thrown over the river oppo- 
site to it. No remains, however, can now be 
traced in that direction, while the ruins of 
the Roman bridge at Pennaflor still exist, 
being in the line of the great ancient military 
road from Merida to the Guadalquivir. If, 
therefore, the present bridge were not built 
upon the ruins of the old one, some traces of 
the latter would most probably still exist ; 
which is not the case. 

In the Franciscan church are the picture 
-and statue of a negro saint, and it is not 
unpleasing to see an image of one of the 

k 2 

t < i 



148 



CORDOBA* 



degraded race of Africa thus held up as an 
object of public, veneration. In the same 
church are two paintings of Saint John and 
Saint Luke, admirable in point of expression 
and colouring, and far more worthy of atten- 
tion than the rich altar on each side of 
which they are placed. 

During my residence in Cordoba, I had 
daily opportunities of observing the rein- 
forcements passing through to join the army. 
They consisted, as may be supposed, entirely 
of new levies, dressed without uniformity, 
shockingly accoutred, and many of them 
imperfectly armed : the men, however, ap- 
peared stout, patient, and hardy, and con- 
firmed me in the opinion which I had before 
entertained, and which I shall hereafter 
farther explain, that no where can better 
materials be found for forming soldiers than 
among the Spanish peasantry. Their un- 
couth dress, their sunburnt faces, and their 
awkward attempts at manoeuvring, may form 
subjects of pleasantry for a French bulletin* 
but with other officers, and a better system 
of discipline, they would soon make their 
friends rejoice, and their enemies tremble. 



ROUTE TO GRANADA 



1^9 



CHAP. VII. 

Route, through Castro, Baena, Alcaudede, 
Alcala la Real, and Pinos de la Puente, 
to Granada* 

HAVING determined to proceed to Gra- 
nada, and being perfectly satisfied with the 
lesson which I had received as to travelling 
with carriers, I resumed my favourite method 
by post, for which purpose I procured a li- 
cence. 

On the 26th February at mid-day I left 
Cordoba, my guide, as usual, having my 
portmanteau fastened before him. Instead of 
crossing the Guadalquivir by the bridge, we 
went above the town, where the banks were 
pleasantly adorned with trees, and passed 
over in a large boat. From the oppssite 
bank the road begins immediately to ascend, 
and, for nearly two leagues, leads over a 
country of open downs, sprinkled with fields 
of corn, In looking back., Cordoba appears 



ISO ROUTE TO GRANADA 



far more interesting than when reviewed 
(torn any other point from which I had yet 
seen it. It appears closer and more compact ; 
its churches, houses, walls, and towers, are 
more happily blended; and from these heights 
we lopk down upon it as if seated in the 
bottom of a valley, screened by mountains, 
and by the side of a noble stream. After 
losing sight of Cordoba, I was struck with 
the appearance of the surrounding country, 
whicn presented rich fields of green corn 
scattered here and there, without the vestige 
of a human habitation near them, or indeed 
in sight in any direction ; one might almost 
have been tempted to regard them as the 
spontaneous productions of the ground. At 
the distance of three leagues from Cordoba, 
we reached Ei Cortijo del Genovese, or the 
Genoese Farm, a single miserable hut, some- 
what removed from the road, with stables, 
out of which we were provided with very in- 
different horses. 

Having proceeded about a league, we 
crossed the Badajocillo, .now a considerable 
stream, and which we were obliged to pass 
three times in the space of little more than a 
league. It flows here through a fertile' and 
extensive flat, bounded by low hills, and in 



CASTRO 



151 



a tolerable good state of cultivation. At the 
head of this flat, and three leagues from El 
Cortijo, stands Castro, of which we have a 
fine view in our approach, seated on a small 
rocky height, which appears to block up the 
valley, and break the bed of the Badajocillo, 
which flows round its bases. The walls form 
nearly a regular oblong, and from its situation 
and name, it was no doubt originally a Ro- 
man camp, to w 7 hich many great towns may 
be traced, not only in Spain, but all Over 
Germany, France, and Britain, Shortly 
before reaching Castro the ground becomes 
uneven, and my guide, using the privilege of 
a horseman, conducted me across a long 
succession of cultivated fields, promising the 
most abundant crops of beans and wheat. 
The population of Castro is reckoned at about 
four thousand souls ; and, it being Sunday, 
the crowd which assembled when I reached the 
post-house far exceeded any which I had yet 
witnessed on a < similar occasion. They asked 
me a great number of questions, and I men- 
tioned, without reserve, wliat was new to 
them, that the English army 1 had embarked, 
and that it was said the Galijcians acted hqs- 
tilely to that army, but had given up Corunna 
and Ferrol to the French. At the former 



152 



ROUTE TO GRANADA 



intelligence they expressed great regret, and 
when I concluded, there was a general cry of 
J5 Malditos sean los Gallegos or, Curse the 
Gallicians. 

On leaving the place, I found a great 
concourse of people assembled at the gate, 
and lining both sides of a small bridge which 
is here thrown over the river, and was 
courteously saluted. Having got clear of the 
town, we soon entered upon a fine plain, simi- 
lar to that on the other side of Castro, having 
the Badajocillo on our left, and gently rising 
hills on the right, whilst at a distance ap- 
peared the lofty mountains of the chain 
which divides Andalusia from Granada. We 
had not proceeded far when we saw a great 
number of parties approaching towards us, 
and in a manner covering the plain. I at 
first imagined them to be inhabitants of 
Castro, who had been spending their Sunday 
in the country, but on their nearer approach 
they appeared to be composed entirely of 
men and youths, and who I was informed had 
been drafted, for the most part from about 
Baena, for the army. This was occasioned 
by a recent decree of the Junta, calling upon 
this part of the country for men, and granting 
very few exemptions to such as were able to 



itOUTE TO GRANADA. 153 

carry arms. Nothing could give a more 
striking picture of the patience and implicit 
obedience of the Spaniards to their govern- 
ment than was presented by these successive 
groups, which had just so suddenly relin- 
quished their homes in strict obedience to a 
single decree of a self-appointed Junta. Some 
were old men with grey hairs, riding on 
asses ; others, striplings under fourteen years 
af age, playing with each other as they went 
along the road. Most were silent ; but some 
laughed and sang ; while others, with down- 
cast eyes and melancholy looks, appeared 
with difficulty to refrain from tears. " Hay 
luenas noticias f Volveremos i — Viva Vln- 
glaterra ! Varaos /" — Have you brought 
good news ? Are we to return ? — England 
for ever ! Let us get on ! — Such Were the 
exclamations which shewed the various feel- 
ings of the parties, their hopes, and their 
fears ; their anxiety to return, or their will- 
ingness, if not their eagerness, to advance. 
In this manner at least twelve hundred men 
and boys passed in review before me ere sun- 
set ; nor was it possible to behold so many 
individuals torn from their homes and peace- 
ful occupations, and to reflect how many 
mothers, wives, and sister^ were at that 



154 



ROUTE TO GRANADA* 



moment plunged in sorrow for the departure 
of those so dear to them, whom they might 
never see again, without cursing from the 
bottom of my soul the ambition and perfidy 
of that man who was the sole cause of all this 
mischief and distress ! 

By degrees we left the plain and these 
Interesting groups, and began to ascend the 
hills, among which Baena, three leagues 
from Castro, is seated. The approach to this 
town is highly pleasing, the hills round it 
being covered with plantations of olive-trees, 
while the opposite sides are full of vineyards, 
which yield a wine in great repute even 
as far as Cordoba. The town itself stands 
upon the side and towards the summit of a 
steep hill, and appears to have been formerly 
a place of much importance. The great 
square, or marketplace, is larger, and more 
elegant, than any in Cordoba, or even in 
Sevilla, and the present population may be 
calculated at about seven or eight thousand 
souls. Instead of repairing to a posada, I 
accepted the invitation of the poor family at 
the post-house to partake of their supper, 
and while it was preparing I took a moonlight 
walk, with one of the inhabitants, through 
the streets of Baena. I every where observed 



BAENA, 



155 



a profound silence prevailing, unusual in a 
Spanish town on so fine a moonlight Sunday 
evening; but the groups which I had met 
on the road, and the information of my com- 
panion, sufficiently accounted for it. " Could 
you behold the interior of these houses," 
said he, " you would find scarcely one family 
of which the women are net in tears." At 
supper I could by no means prevail upon the 
good people to eat until I had finished ; and 
although no meat was to be procured, yet 
what with bread, eggs, oil, garlick, and sallad, 
they made up for me a tolerable mess. My 
bed, as usual, was a pallet of straw stretched 
in the corner of a large hay-loft, and I was 
again indebted to my trusty cloak for a cover- 
ing. 

We left Baena about sun-rise, when the 
labourers were repairing in all directions to 
the neighbouring fields, armed with long 
hoes, or driving before them the tardy oxen 
dragging their miserable ploughs. Having 
proceeded about a mile, I could form a more 
distinct idea of the romantic situation of 
Baena than in viewing it on the road from 
Castro. The steep and lofty mountains 
behind it form in many parts immense walls 
of granite and peaks inaccessible on their 



156 



ROUTE TO GHANADA. 



eastern sides, while, up to the very bases of 
these precipices, were vineyards, clumps of 
olive trees, or cultivated patches. To the 
left of the road appeared, still at a great dis- 
tance, a high conical mountain, which I had 
discovered before reaching Castro, and which 
I now observed to rise behind Alcaudete, our 
next post, distant three leagues. In about 
an hour we arrived on the borders of a small 
lake called Laguna del Conde, encircled by 
green hills, and beyond them by ridges of 
mountains. I observed with some astonish- 
ment, that notwithstanding the scarcity of 
water in this country, and that such a sheet 
of water particularly is an absolute novelty to 
nine-tenths of its inhabitants, there was not 
a single house to be seen on the margin of 
this lake. The only advantage derived from 
it seemed to be for watering great herds of 
cattle which pastured on the surrounding hills 
The broken nature of the country, however, 
rendered this morning's ride very interesting* 
Alcaudete appeared high among the moun- 
tains, soon after leaving Baena, and it seemed 
almost incredible that a long succession of hills 
and plains, lakes, woods, and torrents, should 
lie in the intervening space. About half way 
we crossed the river Gaxo, after long seeking 



ALCAUDETE. 



15/ 



a spot where we might do it with safety, the 
bridge having been carried away by the winter 
torrents, and the banks being still strewed 
with its ruins. The wideness of the bed, and 
« large clumps of lofty reeds withering at the 
distance of fifty yards from the present 
current, marked the boundaries of its late 
wintry course. 

Immediately from the opposite side we 
began to ascend, although my guide was for 
some time puzzled, there being scarcely a 
vestige of a path to be found. As we rise 
among the mountains, and approach Alcau- 
dete, the road becomes shaded on both sides 
with olive trees, which at length extend into 
large plantations. Here, for the first time, I 
saw the living monuments of Moorish indus- 
try, in the art of irrigation, the water run- 
ning on botlv sides of the road in open 
conduits, and being from them distributed in 
innumerable channels through the surround- 
ing fields and plantations. The castle of 
Alcaudete first presents itself on the top of 
the hill ; a square tower surrounded by a 
double row of walls still entire. The principal 
street, which goes round the hill in a spiral 
form, composes the greater part of the town, 
which appears clean, and tolerably well built. 



158 ROUTE TO GRA&ADA. 



Scarcely had I alighted at the post-house 
when I was waited upon by some of the 
principal people of the place, who, after 
asking- me f®rm$f of questions, concluded 
in the Spanish fashion, by offering me every 
service in their power. Having, however, 
neither opportunity nor inclination to avail 
myself of these pompous offers, which mean 
no more than " your humble servant " in 
English, and finding little to interest me in 
Alcaudete except its situation, I set off as 
soon as possible, which was not till about 
mid-day. My guide, mounted on a sorry 
mule, and without stirrups or spurs, afforded 
a presage of the slow progress which I was 
likely to make. 

After leaving Alcaudete, the road con- 
tinued through thick plantations of olives 
for upwards of half a league, when we 
descended into a wild valley, at the foot of 
immense mountains, the sides of which re- 
flected an oppressive heat. Upon the whole, 
however, even from Alcaudete to Alcala the 
road continues to rise, and about half a league 
from the latter we have the first view of the 
Sierra Nevada, or Snow Mountains of Gra- 
nada. Ascending from the bottom of the 
valley, scorched with heat, this snow-covered 
Sierra appeared to me at first like a beau- 



ALCALA LA REAL 



159 



tiful cloud of dazzling white far above the 
summits of the hills ; and it was not until, as 
I continued to ascend, the outlines of waving 
ridges and lofty peaks became more sharp and 
defined, that I could persuade myself that 
what I saw was any thing more than a mass 
of clouds. There was in these white ridges 
towering high above all the neighbouring hills, 
something desolate mixed with the sublimity 
of their appearance. It was evident that no 
living creature could inhabit there; they must 
be the abode of perpetual silence and death ; 
and it appeared that even the fowls of heaven^ 
as in crossing the ocean, might perish in 
attempting to traverse these wastes of snow* 

Alcala la Real, the first town in this direc- 
tion in Granada, is seated partly on the side 
of a hill, and partly in a bottom, surrounded 
by very steep and romantic ridges, which 
appear to be nearly the highest ground be- 
tween Cordoba and Granada. Towards AU 
cala we constantly rise, and from it we gradu- 
ally descend until reaching Granada. The 
hills all round were in a state of cultivation, 
but by no means so fertile or so abounding 
ifi olive trees as the neighbourhood of Baena 
or Alcaudete. On the summit of the height 
on which the town stands are the ruina of 



l60 ' ALCALA LA BEAL.' 

an ancient castle, so genera! in Spanish views; 
whilst in the lower part of the town, the 
Alameda, planted with rose trees, affords a 
specimen of modern improvement. From 
its great elevation above the level of the sea^ 
the air here must necessarily be pure ; 
although the same cause, and the vicinity of 
the Sierra Nevada, renders it at times cold 
and piercing ; even now the inhabitants were 
wrapped up in their cloaks, and shivering 
with cold, whilst I found it no more than mo- 
derately bracing. 

Here, as in other places, no sooner had I 
alighted at the post-house than I was sur- 
rounded with a crowd. As I appeared doubt- 
ful whether to proceed or halt here for the 
night, I was pressed to adopt the latter reso- 
lution, which I at length declared my inten- 
tion of doing. Immediately many offers 
were made me of accommodation for the 
night, and it was not until after strong en- 
treaties that I was persuaded partly to accept 
of one of them. Having ordered a bed to 
be procured for me at the post-house, I 
accompanied one of the Spaniards, who ap- 
peared the most warm in his offers, to his 
own habitation : the name of this hospitable 
man was Don Francisco de Paula de Rovles ; 

2 



ALCALA LA REAL, l6l 



he had been a soldier in his early years, and 
had even served against the English, but his 
present enthusiasm was highly raised in fa* 
vour of that nation> which he declared he had 
never been able thoroughly to consider as 
hostile to his own. I found his house neat 
and well furnished, and was received by his 
wife with the utmost kindness and attention : 
in a short time a dinner was set before me in 
a far more comfortable style than I had wit- 
nessed since leaving Lisbon ; nor was it pos- 
sible for my kind hostess sufficiently to shew 
her attention ; her choicest fruits, her best 
conserves, the oldest wine, the best liqueurs, 
were heaped upon the board, and I was 
pressed with almost more than Highland 
hospitality to taste of every delicacy. During 
my repast a most venerable priest entered 
the room, and seated himself without much 
ceremony in the principal seat : he entered 
into conversation, and even deigned to join 
de Rovles and his wife in their lamentations 
for the fate of the English army, and its Ge- 
neral, who had died in the Spanish cause* 
After a short pause, the Priest exclaimed, "I 
should like you English well enough, but 
there are so few Christians among you iV — 
iC Pero en Inglaterra hay pocos Christianos" 

h 



502 



ALCALA LA REAL 



Such an observation so suddenly made by this 
fat ignorant monk, might have provoked a 
useless reply, or a marked contempt, if the 
hostess had not immediately interposed — 
" Oh," said she, " let us talk of that some 
other time." 

After my repast I surveyed the town, and 
was carried by my kind conductor, among 
other places, to a Franciscan convent, where 
the curiosity of the monks to learn the news, 
and their eagerness to talk about politics, 
could only be exceeded by their extreme 
ignorance on general points. I could here 
observe that the gradations of rank in these 
institutions, the strict obedience and respect 
enforced by the superiors, the regular duties 
to be performed, their allotted hours, sepa- 
rate apartments, the uniform dress, all tended 
to form merely lazy regiments of men, whose 
monotonous occupations could tend only to 
enslave and debase the mind. The obedience 
of the inferior monks appeared to degenerate 
into a slavish respect ; and the command of 
thbsejn power partook greatly of supercili- 
ousness and worldly pride. In all large bodies 
of men confined long together, such as regi- 
ments in garrison, or sailors on board of ship, 
petty quarrels, jealousies, and vices, will ever 



ALCALA LA REAL. 



163 



arise; but in these instances, a change of 
place, or strong incitement to action, removes 
the evil. Monastic bodies, on the contrary, 
from the nature of the human mind, must 
become permanently bad ; performing the 
same routine of duties now that were per- 
formed at their first institution ; remaining 
fixed for ever to the same spot, without the 
hope, or the possibility of change. A dreamer 
of systems may tell us that virtue will there 
find a calm retreat, but a very small know- 
ledge of mankind may suffice to shew us, 
that such institutions can become only the 
repositories of a thousand vices. 

In the evening my new friend insisted 
upon my accompanying him to his house, 
where an excellent supper was provided for 
me, and where I received a repetition of the 
former civilities of my kind hostess. At my 
departure many were the protestations of 
regard for me, and for the English nation ; 
and it was not without some difficulty that I 
was permitted to take up my night's lodging 
at the post-house. 

On the ensuing morning I bade adieu to 
Alcala la Real. The road for some distance is 
stony, until by degrees we arrive at a flat 
and winding valley, where in the sides of the 

X. 2 



164 BOUTE TO GRANADA. 

hills on the left are numerous singular caves, 
besides traces of ancient works for irrigation 
conducted along the slope. In the centre of 
the valley stands a remarkable upright rugged 
mass of rock, completely isolated, and sur- 
iDounted by a cross. The road continued 
little interesting for about two leagues, when 
having toiled up a high hill, a view of won- 
derful majesty broke upon us. Beneath was 
a precipice bordered with deep ravines, where 
in dark nights, or in winter, men and horses 
are often lost : before us, on the right, the 
hills formed great and regular masses, having 
their sides shaded with forests of oak and 
cork-trees, while to the left the rugged moun- 
tains appeared to have been severed by some 
great convulsion of nature, forming the pass 
of Matanza, and affording an outlet to the 
river of that name, which appeared in the 
bottom. The Snow Sierra rose beyond, and 
appeared to overhang the whole, although 
still at the distance of ten leagues ; the deep 
clefts in its sides, the' vastness of its mass, and 
its summit of dazzling white, all tended to 
complete one of the grandest and most inte- 
resting views that I had ever yet beheld. To 
add a moral interest to this scene, my guide 
informed me, that the ground beneath us to 



SCUTE TO GRANADA. 



the left was famous for a great battle gained 
there by the Christians over the Moors, and 
which had determined the fate of the king- 
dom of Granada. So great was the slaughter 
that the river was discoloured with blood ; 
and it is often called el Rio de Sangre, or the 
River of Blood, to this day. 

The road was so steep, and so slippery with 
the rains, that we were obliged to alight from 
our horses. Instead of going as I had expected 
through the pass of Matanza, we turned to 
the right, and went close under the hills, on 
the highest summit of one of which stood a 
cross, apparently of wood, but which, from 
being visible at so great a distance, must have 
been of extraordinary bulk. Our descent 
was now almost continual until we reached 
Puerto Lopez, a collection of four or five 
tolerable houses, on a rising ground to the 
left of the road, and three leagues distant 
from Alcala. This I was informed had been 
the utmost extent of the incursions of the 
French, during the time that they held pos- 
session of Cordoba : twenty-five dragoons 
had penetrated by way of Lugena, but whilst 
carousing here in a barn, were surrounded by 
a large body of cavalry from Granada, and all 
put to death, shortly before the battle of Bay- 



166 ROUTE TO GRANADA* 

len. A short distance after leaving Puerto 
Lopez the road is uneven for about a league, 
when we reach the last height which inter- 
cepts the view of the beautiful and fertile 
plain of Granada, towards which we now 
rapidly descend. Even the imagination can 
hardly conceive any thing more rich and 
striking than this immense plain ; grand from 
its extent, and beautiful from its cultivation ; 
being i n length nearly twenty miles, and from 
eight to ten in breadth, entirely covered with 
fields and gardens, intermixed with houses 
and villages. The Snow Sierra, and at its base 
the city of Granada, stand at the head of this 
valley, which is moreover bordered by lofty 
mountains on every side, and watered by the 
Genii, which winds through the centre. The 
road running close along the foot of the hills 
on the left, allows us a view of this fine tract 
in all its beauty and extent. Here the sys- 
tem of irrigation seems to have been carried 
by the Moors to its greatest perfection, 
and the beneficial effects of it are still felt. 
Traces of this system are indeed evident all 
the way from Alcala. In the plain every field 
is surrounded by a low mound, with an open- 
ing to admit the water, which after its ad- 
mission is closed ; by this means the plain 

2 



ROUTE TO GRANADA* l6? 

appeared sprinkled with little square ponds, 
closely bordered with green crops in the 
most promising condition. 

From Puerto Lopez to Pinos de la Puente 
the distance is two leagues and a half, al- 
though marked in the Spanish books of roads 
at only two leagues. Pinos dela Puente is a 
village of considerable extent, and seated 
nearly on the same spot as the Ilurco of the 
ancients, at the foot of a small ridge, and a 
little elevated above the level of the neigh- 
bouring plain ; a fine stream runs past it, and 
soon after falls into the Genii. From hence 
to Granada the road is excellent, and upon a 
continued level. Granada, from this side, 
by no means presents an appearance propor- 
tionate to the idea which we might be led to 
form of its extent ; great part of it being con- 
cealed by the irregularities of the ground on 
which it stands. As we approach, the road 
for upwards of two miles is bordered with 
trees, and when we had come under the shade, 
my guide, v/ho had hitherto gone at a brisk 
rate, suddenly pulled up, and desired me to 
give my horse time to breathe, and to keep 
close after him. Whilst I was conjecturing 
what could be the motive of two requests 
apparently so little connected, we arrived on 



168 



ROUTE TO GRANADA. 



the open space before the gate of Elvira, 
where bodies of recruits were exercising. 
In an instant the place resounded with the 
cracks of my postilion's whip ; our horses set 
off, and we entered the town at full gallop. 
The men shouted out ** an English Courier ! 
good news !" The boys ran, the dogs barked, 
the casements flew open, and we clattered 
through the streets at the imminent danger 
of our necks ; until after having my passports 
examined at the post-office, and being asked 
if I knew of any thing important having 
lately occurred, I was safely landed at the 
Fonda of Saint Geronymo. Into no town of 
Spain had I ever made so triumphal an entry 
as into Granada ; all the rest were merely 
ovations compared to it I 



GRANADA. 



CHAP. VIII. 

Gra na da . Its ex ten t — ca thedra I — inquisi- 
tion— Carthusian convent— Plaza de los 
Toros — Alhambra — Generalife — French 
prisoners — patriotism of the inhabitants, 
and superstition. 

When we view the situation of Gra- 
nada, we cease to wopder that the Moors on 
the Barbary coast still remember it in their 
prayers, and record their expulsion from this 
fine country with regret. Placed at the head 
pf one of the richest and most extensive 
valleys in Europe, and upon the very lowest 
slopes of the Snowy Sierra, where they 
mingle with the plain, Granada enjoys on 
one side a prospect of all that is romantic, and 
on the other of all that is rich and beautiful. 
Behind it, nearly to the eastward, rises the 
Sierra Nevada, with its summits covered 
^vith eternal snows ; before it lies stretched 
out an immense plain, where winter never 
lias power to interrupt vegetation : its Alham* 



170 GRANADA. 

bra presents the finest specimen of Moorish 
architecture in Europe; and two streams, the 
Genii and the Darro, which descend from 
the mountains, and unite almost in the city 
itself, add to the whole a species of interest 
which few other towns in Spain possess. 

There is no point from which we can at 
one view discover the whole of the city, 
although its greatest length does not equal a 
mile. From the Plaza de la Victoria near 
the eastern extremity, along the Darro to 
the Plaza de Gracia on the west, is a dis- 
tance of little more than fifteen hundred 
yards ; and from the gate of Elvira on the 
north, to the Genii, is scarcely thirteen 
hundred : but the high hill on which the 
Alhambra stands projects as it were into the 
city, which is built besides principally on 
two other ridges, and in the bottoms between 
them, sathat the whole can no where at once 
be seen. There is every appearance that all 
these ridges formed, in early times, one in- 
clined plane, which has been divided by the 
torrents from the mountains ; a process of 
nature still more evidently carrying on as we 
ascend the Sierra. It is from the top of the 
tower of the cathedral, which stands about 
mid-way between the Genii and the gate of 



GRANADA 



171 



Elvira, that we have the most extensive pro- 
spects of the city. To the eastward rises the 
Alhambra ; and behind it, but more towards 
the south, are the lower ridges, and crowning 
all is the lofty peak, of the Sierra Nevada. To 
the south we behold, as it were beneath our 
feet, the point of junction of the Darro and 
the Genii, the banks of the latter thickly 
planted with rows of trees ; the bridge over 
it ; and in the horizon, but more to the west, 
the Sierra Alhama, or mountains which lie 
between us and Malaga ; and over all, towards 
the north and north-west, are the steep ridges 
of the Sierra Elvira, of which we have so fine 
a view on the road from Alcala. 

The cathedral itself is not unworthy of 
notice, although by no means comparable to 
that of Sevilla. Its extreme length is about 
one hundred yards, and its breadth about 
sixty. In the same manner as choirs 
have been introduced into the ancient 
mosques, the chpir here occupies the centre 
between two rows of pillars, and facing 
the grand altar, which stands towards the 
eastward. The disproportionate and clumsy 
bases of these clustered columns deprive them 
of all beauty ; but there is a simplicity and a 
unity in the general plan which is pleasing, 



172 



GRANADA. 



and very different from the motley styles 
which we observe in most of the ancient 
churches of Spain : we see at once the two 
rows of pillars which divide the church length- 
ways, and inclose the choir, the screen 
of the altar, and the general effect of the 
whole. The choir and the altar form indeed 
a separate church, of pillars and screens, 
inclosed within another of walls and gates. 
Here, as in all the Spanish churches, a 
number of little chapels with altars stand 
round the walls, and are generally richly 
ornamented with gold, silver, precious mar- 
bles, and paintings. When not occupying 
too much room, and made too prominent a 
feature in the building, they produce a good 
effect. The tame view of naked walls is 
thus removed, and in the doubtful twilight it 
is not unpleasing to wander on the outside 
of the choir, and hear the solemn music of 
the evening service reverberated round these 
sculptured caves. These fits of lonely musing 
are, however, in direct opposition to an 
edict posted up on one of the pillars, and 
which, as somewhat characteristic of the priests 
of the cathedral, I shall here insert : " Nadie 
se passee, hable con mugeres, ni este en corriU 
los, en estas naves, pena de excornmunion, y dos 



GBANADA. 



173 



ducadospor obraspias" — That is, u Nobody is 
to walk, to talk with women, or form parties, 
in these aisles, under pain of excommunica- 
tion, and two ducats for pious purposes 
This association of one of the severest 
punishments of the church, with two ducats, 
is not a little ludicrous ; and, one would 
think, might serve to awaken reflection 
even in the mind of a bigoted Spaniard. 

The office of the Inquisition is still pre- 
served at Granada, but the power, or the 
abuse of it, has fortunately fled, and, let us 
hope, for ever. It is easy for strangers to 
procure admission, and I did not neglect the 
opportunity, of visiting these once dreaded 
walls; which now, however, inspire no interest, 
except through the recollection of the past. 
We were conducted into three halls, one 
opening into another, and in the last, to 
which we descend by a few steps, stood the 
chair of the Grand Inquisitor, most pleasingly 
covered with dust. From a window we were 
shewn the dungeons in the yard below, or 
rather the spot where they were said to be. 
When asked if there were any prisoners then 
confined in them, our conductor answered, in 
that solemn and mysterious tone which the 
Inquisition still affects, that " it was not 



174 



GRANABA 



known/* Even these feeble remains of this 
horrible institution create a sort of secret 
fear in the soul. One, and only one object 
of infinite importance was shewn to us. It 
was a small crucifix of silver, with an image 
of Jesus Christ, about the size of a little 
finger. This, we were informed with great 
gravity, had some hundreds of years ago been 
put into an oven by a most incredulous Jew, 
to be baked in a pye, out of hatred to, and 
contempt of, Christianity. But, mark how 
villainy was brought to light ! — no sooner did 
this rogue of a Jew shut the door of his oven, 
than blood began to flow from the image: 
this it continued to do in such an astonish- 
ing quantity that the oven was presently 
filled, and the blood came out in spite of all 
the Jew's efforts, until it fairly ran into the 
street! — This of course immediately excited 
alarm and inquiry, the blood was traced to its 
source, the most sacred image taken out in 
triumph, and the villainous Jew put in its 
place — a punishment by far too mild for a 
crime so shocking! I have not the least 
doubt as to the truth of this story, because I 
saw the image with my own eyes, and the 
man who related this singular circumstance 



GRANADA. 175 

was of an exceedingly grave and venerable 
aspect. 

A little way out of the town, to the north, 
stands the Carthusian convent. This order 
was founded by Saint -Bruno, and is one of 
the strictest in the Romish church. The 
monks live very sparingly, never speak even 
to each other, and admit no one to be present 
at their devotions. When I went the doors 
were shut, the monks being busily employed 
in getting souls out of purgatory ; a short 
notice to which effect was hung upon the out- 
side: " Hoy se sacan animas" — "To-day they 
are delivering souls." Whilst they were em- 
ployed in this praiseworthy office, I had full 
leisure to observe the situation of the con- 
vent, screened towards the north and east 
by small hills, and commanding in front a 
charming view over the plain of Granada. 
Excepting the uniform sound produced by a 
small run of water falling into a basin of stone 
m the court, all around was as silent and still 
as death. At length the souls were delivered, 
the monks retired each to his cell, the gates 
opened, and we were admitted into this mag- 
nificent abode of silence and mortification. 
In every direction was evident the design of 
atoning as much as possible, by surrounding 



176 



GRANADA* 



splendour, for the severities enjoiried by 
Saint Bruno, Perhaps no church or convent 
in Europe surpasses this in richness of deco- 
ration, and the sacristy is unequalled for the 
beauty of the marble with which it is en- 
tirely faced. This marble is chiefly of a 
reddish colour, and is found at the distance 
of six or seven leagues, in a ridge attached to 
the Sierra Nevada. The paintings are also 
worthy of attention, but not perhaps equal 
to what they are in general described to be 
by the inhabitants. There are some by a 
Father of the Order, which shew great merit, 
and are much boasted of by the convent ; but 
there is a stiffness and an inaccuracv in the 
drawing, and a want of variety in the expres- 
sion, which mar the whole. We see enough, 
however, to make us regret that a man of 
great natural talents for painting should have 
been buried within these walls, and not 
allowed, by free intercourse with mankind, to 
bring to perfection what might have conferred* 
a lasting honour on his name and country. 
According To the information of my con- 
ductor, the number of fathers inhabiting this 
palace was only twenty- one. They are in 
general short-lived, and outraged nature 
avenges herself for the obstinate refusal of 



^RAttADA. 



3 77 



her chief benefits, by an invincible disgust, 
which generally in a few years brings them to 
the tomb. The Order is, however, im- 
mensely rich, and although it gives away 
great sums in charity, is yet not able to dis- 
tribute all its wealth, which of course is con- 
stantly accumulating. 

As in most other towns of Spain, the 
theatre of Granada was shut, and even bull- 
fights had not for a long time been exhibited. 
The amphitheatre for this latter purpose has 
little worthy of notice, being merely a large 
circular building for the seats, with an open 
space in the centre for the combats. I was 
shewn the places where the bulls were kept 
apart, the doors out of which they rushed 
into the arena, in what direction the cava- 
liers advanced, and the seats of the magis- 
trates and nobility ; but all was empty and 
silent, and notwithstanding the oratory of 
my conductor, I could form no conception of 
the enthusiasm excited by these shows, from 
the mere sight of the spot where they had 
been exhibited. My conductor was the 
person to whom the care of the amphitheatre, 
was entrusted, and he lamented the cessation 
of these modern tournaments, which, like 
every other misfortune, public or private, is 



178 



GRANADA. 



attributed to the French. In the principal 
seat, destined for the representative of 
the young monarch, was a picture of Fer- 
dinand the Seventh, preserved with great 
care, and before which the man took off his 
hat, and even ventured to kiss the hand 
with great demonstration of loyalty and sub- 
mission. 

The Alhambra is however the great object 
of attraction to every traveller visiting Gra- 
nada, and has been the subject of many de- 
scriptions. As has been already mentioned, 
this great Moorish palace and fortress stands 
uoon a steep ridge which bounds the city to 
the eastward, or rather which forms an acute 
angle entering it on that side. The walls 
follow with sufficient accuracy the general 
outline of the edges of the ridge, and, before 
the invention of gunpowder, must have been 
from their strength and situation nearly im- 
pregnable. The extreme length of the whole 
is about six hundred yards, with a breadth 
nearly uniform of about one hundred and 
fifty. Within this space the Moorish Mo- 
ri arch s of Granada, had accumulated all that 
according to their notions was secure in war, 
or magnificent and luxurious in peace ; and 
the towers, the walls, the halls of audience, 



GRANADA 



179 



the bed-chambers, and the baths, which still 
exist in excellent preservation, all tend to 
give us a lively idea of what these notions 
were. 

The Alhambra has been often described ; 
I wish rather to collect in my own mind the 
impression made by the whole, than to enter 
into a minute account of its endless details. 
It was commenced by Mohammed Abu 
Abdallah, king of Granada, about the year 
1260, and was called by him Medina Alham- 
bra, or the Red City, supposed to be from the 
colour of the soil, which abounds in many 
parts in oxyd of iron. As the first walls were 
composed chiefly of earth mixed on the spot 
with a small quantity of chaik, it is easy to 
observe by their present state what was the 
prevailing nature of the soil ; for wherever we 
find them in the greatest decay, there the 
oxyd of iron has been so abundant as to pre- 
vent the union of the other materials with 
the chalk. The principal entrance is from 
the street of Gorneres, where we ascend, and 
pass first through a kind of triumphal arch 
erected in the time of Charles the Fifth. 
Here the hill begins to be covered with trees, 
which, from the broken nature of the ground 
produce a pleasing effect. On the left is a 

m 3 



180 



GRANADA. 



sloping terrace faced with stone, by which we 
ascend, and enter the great gate of the for- 
tress, called the Gate of the Tribunal, ac- 
cording to the eastern custom of judging in 
the gate, and to which allusions are so fre- 
quently made in the scriptures. Over the 
entrance is sculptured an arm with a hand, 
the symbol of power, and of various other 
mystical qualities among the Arabians. Ac- 
cording to an inscription in Arabic characters, 
this gate was built in the year 1344. The 
first absurdity that strikes us here is a wooden 
image of the Virgin Mary, placed in a niche 
near the inscription, and which has been 
opened purposely for its reception. A little 
farther on in a recess is an altar, and a picture, 
which, we are informed by a long inscrip- 
tion in letters of gold, was the second like- 
ness ever taken by St. Luke of the most holy 
Vinrin — let us attend no more to such ab- 
surdities ! 

After passing through various Moorish 
arches, we arrive at the Square of the Cis- 
terns, so called from two great reservoirs 
beneath the surface, where the water of the 
Darro is brought in a conduit from the dis- 
tance of about half a league : this square is 
on the highest part of the ridge ; the views 



&RANADA. 



181 



from it are grand and interesting ; and it was 
therefore chosen by the Spaniards as a spot 
for erecting the greatest absurdity within the 
walls of the Alhambra. On one side of the 
square stands the palace of Charles the Fifth, 
commenced by him with the design of shew- 
ing the great superiority of the Christian ar- 
chitecture over that of the Moors, but which 
has never yet been finished : the plan of the 
building is noble and simple, the execution is 
excellent throughout, and the whole, if com- 
pleted, would be a habitation worthy of a 
great monarch ; yet placed where it is, and 
with the poor design of insulting, if I may so 
say, the finest monument of ancient Moorish 
architecture in Europe, we lose all sight of 
its beauties, and can regard it only as a more 
systematic absurdity than the image of the 
Virgin, or the picture painted by St. Luke ! 

With these impressions we turn with more 
pleasure to the ancient palace of the Moorish 
kings. The principal gate fronts the south, 
and is thus concealed by the palace of Charles 
the Fifth : it is formed of a circular arch on 
two thick pillars, above which are three win- 
dows, with carvings of flowers and leaves, 
amid which is an Arabic inscription, signify-, 
ng c God alone is Conqueror," a motto 



182 



GRANADA 



which is repeated incessantly throughout the 
building. Through the gate we enter a low 
gallery, adorned in like manner with various 
figures and inscriptions, and supported upon 
eight columns; the diameter of these columns 
is the same from the base upward, the capi- 
tals are variously adorned, and flowers, leaves, 
and shields, on which are inscribed the words 
" God alone is Conqueror," are scattered 
about in great profusion. Above is another 
gallery, nearly corresponding in all respects 
with the one beneath. From the gallery we 
enter the principal court, surrounded by walls 
of twenty-five feet in height, and having in 
the middle a pool of water nearly one hun- 
dred and thirty feet in length, by thirty in 
breadth ; this served for the purification of 
those who went to prayer in the royal mosque, 
which was within the palace. From this 
court another gallery conducts us through an 
outer apartment to the Hall of Comaresch, or 
the Hall of Audience, where ambassadors 
were presented to the king. Here the Moor- 
ish artists appear to have exerted all their 
skill to produce a brilliant and imposing effect : 
the form is a square of about forty-two feet, 
and the height nearly seventy ; nine windows, 
three in each of three sides, are so placed as 



GRANADA 



183 



to throw light in every direction upon the 
niches, the interwoven borders, the garlands 
of flowers and leaves, the medallions, with 
Arabic inscriptions of u Glory be to God/' 
" God alone is Conqueror y and the inter- 
secting arches and circles, adorned with flow- 
ers, fruits, and shells. From the floor to the 
roof all is ornament, and of various colours, 
deep blue, red, green, or glittering with gild- 
ing : the ceiling is a kind of cupola, composed 
of wood of different colours, silvered or gilt, 
forming circles, crowns, and stars ; the pave- 
ment is of various-coloured tiles. On all 
sides are the minutise of art ; and by inscrip- 
tions over the windows, no longer legible, 
but which have been preserved in books, it 
would appear that there was formerly a foun- 
tain in the hall, of which at present no trace 
remains. 

The Court of Lions is the most magnificent 
of the Alhambra, and shews the peculiar ge- 
nius and defects of the Arabian artists. It is 
in length about one hundred and thirty feet, 
and seventy-five in breadth, surrounded by a 
low gallery, supported by one hundred and 
twenty-eight pillars of white marble. The 
view of these delicate columns, which are 
little more than ten feet high, and of uniform 



184 



GKANADA. 



diameters, pleases more than all the glitter of 
the royal apartments ; they stand in groups 
of four and four on the sides of the entrance, 
of three and three in front, and alternately 
grouped and single all round beneath the 
gallery. It is not possible to see a finer spe- 
cimen of the Arabian taste : the contrast is 
however very great when we come to exa- 
mine the lions from which this part of the 
Alhambra derives its name. In the centre, a 
large circular fount or basin of marble is 
supported by twelve lions, the sculpture and 
proportions of which are well calculated to 
produce a smile : the basin itself is elegant, 
forming a dodecagon, with an inscription 
on each of the sides, and ornamented with 
leaves and flowers : but nothing can place in 
a stronger light the ignorance of the Arabian 
sculptors when they ventured to represent 
animals, than the twelve lions which support 
this admirable cup. We are indeed at a los^ 
to account for this singular and direct viola- 
tion of the laws of Mahomet, which expressly 
forbid the representation of any thing in hea- 
ven above, or earth beneath ; certainly in this 
instance the beauty of the workmanship can- 
not be urged as an excuse for the violation of 
the precept ; such lions were never before 



GKANADA. 



185 



seen ; yet they were thought admirable at the 
period of their being placed there, as we may 
learn from the inscription on one of the sides 
of the cup — "O thou that beholdest these 
lions, breath alone is wanting to enable them 
to shew their fury !" 

The remaining parts of the Alhambra are 
such as might be expected in the palace of 
an Eastern monarch. Every thing appears 
contrived for the sake of coolness : the mar- 
ble floors, the roofs evidently formed upon 
the model of stalactites, the apartments 
screened from the light, the baths, the foun- ■ 
tains, are all the luxuries of a warm climate. 
In the Hall of ihe Two Sisters, so called from 
two large pieces of marble which form part 
of the pavement, the roof is finished with 
infinite labour, and were it not for the splen- 
dour of the colours, might well excite the idea 
of some cool dripping cave. In the corre- 
sponding apartment called the Hall of the 
Abencerraxes, is a fountain, hi the marble 
basin of which is a reddish stain. This voti 
are told proceeds from the blood of six and 
thirty cavaliers of the noble family of the 
Abencerraxes, who were here beheaded on 
false accusations ; one of them for unlawful 
intercourse with the sultana ; and the rest for 



is6 



GKANADA. 



an alleged conspiracy against their sovereign, 
Abo Abdeli. This tale, which is not coun- 
tenanced by the authority of a single re- 
spectable historian, would long ere this have 
been forgotten had not superstition taken it 
up. These noble youth's were secretly at- 
tached to Christianity ; even through the 
walls of the palace they were heard, dt the 
hour of death, exhorting each other in the 
name of Jesus ; and the blood of these mar- 
tyrs has indelibly stained the marble, and 
remains an unquestionable record of the 
crime and the miracle ! 

In two small apartments of the Hall of 
the Tribunal, are paintings on the ceilings, 
which have given rise to many conjectures ; 
some have supposed them to have been 
painted since the conquest of Granada, by the 
Spaniards, founding this opinion upon the 
known law of Mahomet ; but if the Arabian 
monarchs could so far break through the 
superstitious restrictions of their prophet as 
to have marble lions in their courts, they 
need not have been scrupulous about a few 
paintings in their closets. One represents a 
landscape with trees, and two young women 
sitting admiring it ; others, a chace, with 
cavaliers and their servants on horseback ; a 



GRANADA 



28/ 



castle, out of which two laidies, with their 
duennas, are coming to receive some knights 
who are approaching dismounted ; men com- 
bating an enchanter with a long beard, hold- 
ing a lady by both her hands, and a knight 
with a couched lance riding full speed to her 
deliverance : such are 4 the subjects of these 
paintings, which shew the very infancy of the 
art. The most interesting is the representa- 
tion of judges assembled, and deliberating on 
the life of an accused person : and perhaps, as 
the only specimens existing of Mahometan 
paintings, the whole are not unworthy of 
being copied and made public. 

In one small room, from the construction 
of the roof, a whisper in one corner is dis- 
tinctly heard in the other. This may have 
appeared a wonderful invention to the Moors, 
as it seems to the greater part of the Spaniards 
who visit it ; but to one who has been in 
the whispering gallery of St. Paul's, nothing 
can appear more childish than this contri- 
vance. In fact, the size of the room is such, 
that a whisper might easily be heard across it 
with very little effort. 

The Queen's dressing-closet is a pleasant 
little apartment, into which we enter by a 
gallery to the eastward of the Hall of Audi- 



188 



GRANADA 



ence ; it is ornamented with paintings, the 
subjects of which are chiefly taken from the 
Roman mythology, and which of course 
are comparatively of a modern date. In a 
smaller closet near to it is a marble slab in- 
serted in the pavement, with holes, and a 
vacancy beneath, where incense was burned, 
the smoke of which ascended through these 
holes, and thus perfumed any person stailding 
over them. The views from the windows of 
these apartments are very grand ; in which 
respect, indeed, this palace, even in its pre- 
sent state of ruin, has greatly the advantage 
over any other in Europe. The views, even 
from ' the stately brow of Windsor's height, 
are not equal to those from the upper win 
dows of the Alhambra, on account of the ro- 
mantic ridges of mountains which on all 
sides border the plain of Granada. 

It is evident that what now exists of this 
palace is but a small part of the original build- 
ing, of which traces may yet be seen in all 
directions, whilst in many spots even the 
ruins have perished. Among the former 
are the remains of the burying-place of the 
Arabian monarchs of Granada, near that part 
of the building called the quarter of the 
Abencerraxes. It forms a square of about 



GRANADA. 18Q 

four yards each side, and thirteen in height, 
and is now part of the dwelling-house of the 
curate of the parish. No ornaments of any 
kind can now be traced upon the walls ; hut 
the roof, which forms a kind of cupola, is of 
admirable workmanship, with a flower in- 
scribed in a star in the centre. Here were 
found, in the year J 574, four marble grave- 
stones of kings buried beneath, partly sunk 
in the earth, but still shewing, in what was 
above, Arabian inscriptions handsomely cut. 
The epitaphs were in prose, and on the oppo- 
site side of each were verses, which have been 
preserved and translated by the Royal Aca- 
demy of Saint Ferdinand. As a specimen of 
the Arabian taste, the verses of the grave- 
stone of King Abilhagex are perhaps not un- 
worthy of translation. It runs nearly as fol- 
lows :- — 

" In the Name of God, 
" Compassionate and Merciful. 
" Salute with humility and praise from thy 
tomb the grace of God, which will perpetually 
assist you until the day when men shall arise, 
.with humbled countenances, before the Awak- 
ener of the dead in his judgment seat/ And 
thou, Oh Sepulchre ! art not such, but ra- 
ther a garden of odoriferous fruits, And if l 
3 



1Q0 



GRANADA. 



wish to give you deserved praise, I must say 
no other than — Oh, thou cover of orange 
blossoms and pearls ! Ob, abode of honour i 
Oh, burying-place of virtue ! Oh, fall of 
greatness, and eclipse of the moon in her full! 
since Death has deposited in you a great Lord 
of generous blood, and the most perfect of 
the Kings of Beninazere. In you lie buried 
honour, generosity, and greatness, the well- 
endowed with the fear of God. If not so, 
who like Abilhagex dispelled the darkness of 
heresy ? This is the blood of Zadhe el Haz- 
ragi Aben Obeda. Oh, exceedingly generous ! 
when modesty, pity, honour, and gravity are 
mentioned, and you would wish to talk of his 
greatness, it is like talking of the boundless 
ocean. Were opportunities sometimes un- 
favourable ? And do you ever by chance see 
any thing permanent, or a man uniformly 
prosperous ? Time has two faces, one for the 
day, another for the night ; and such being 
its nature, we must not accuse it for its un- 
certainty. He died praising God, prostrated 
in prayer before him, filled with virtue, his 
tongue moistened with his reciting. To God 
be the honour of such a death, equal to the 
death of Omar. In the most pacific state of 
his reign, it was permitted that he being so 



GRANADA, 



191 



lofty should receive felicity from the hands of 
one of low birth and station, in order that the 
most inadvertent of all might meet with an 
unexpected event. And it must not be reck- 
oned as an affront, that the great receives an 
offence from the small, because the reasons 
for the judgments of God are too high for 
our comprehension ; as was Ali offended by 
Aben Mulgem, and Hamza the valiant by 
Guahxi. Let us hold our arms ready, and 
our lances, and let us submit to the Divine 
will, even when we cannot comprehend it ; 
and thus he who trusts in this world, of what- 
ever condition he may be, shall find himself 
deceived and lost in that trust. Then, O king, 
of thatKingdom which lasts for ever, and whose 
prerogative it is solely to command men, and 
all creatures ! cover our faults with the veil 
of thy mercy ; for it is in thy mercy alone that 
we can trust for a refuge. And cover the 
king of the true believers with thy mercy, 
which may lead him to peace and joy ; for he 
who is near to thee, Oh our God ! shall not 
be shaken ; and the life of man is a decep- 
tion, and without security. May God cover 
with his mercy our sovereign, and join him to 
his blessed predecessor in glory P 5 

Connected with the old fortifications of 



GKANADA* 



the Alhambra are several towers, the highest 
of which is -used as a prison. I was surprised 
to see confined here a number of men, whom 
from tffeir ti i§Q Lai guage, and manners, I 
took to be Spaniards. I was told that they 
were Frenchmen ; many of whom had been 
resident in Granada for upwards of thirty 
years, and almost all of them married to 
Spanis T women. Their sole crime was that 
of being Frenchmen by birth, for they cer- 
tainly did not appear to be such in any other 
respect. Some of them were engaged in 
various games, some conversed, whilst others 
mounted on the highest platform of the 
tower, looked down upon the city, where 
they might with ease discover the roofs of 
their own houses from which they had been 
so cruelly torn. It does not appear possible 
by any sophistry to justify the act of seizing 
and imprisoning men reposing in all the se- 
curity of citizenship. The just cause of the 
Spaniards should not have been tarnished by 
go base and cowardly a proceeding. It may 
perhaps be said that they were placed here to 
be protected against any sudden bursts of the 
fury of the populace. I do not, however, 
believe this to have been the original motive; 
and even if it were, it might justify the go- 



GRANADA, j Q3 

vernment, but not the national character* 
On the summit of the tower is a great bell, 
which is never rung except on particular 
occasions. The sound extends ovet the 
whole plain of Granada, and never fails to 
bring immense crowds from all the surround- 
ing country to learn the cause. It had beeii 
sounded, I was told, for three days success- 
sively, not long ago, for the purpose of col- 
lecting recruits, and that upwards of twenty 
thousand men were thus attracted to the 
city in that space of time; 

Upon the whole, the Alhambra^ like every 
other Moorish monument that I have yet 
seen, greatly disappointed my expectations. 
It appears to me an immense collection of 
littlenesses: the effect produced is some- 
times elegant, often beautiful, but nowhere 
elevated, simple, or sublime. It is certainly 
pleasing to tread floors once so sacred and 
concealed ; to be in the halls, the baths, the 
bed-chambers, of a race of monarchs whose 
very nation has been expelled from Europe ; 
to moralize upon their walls falling to decay, 
upon their sepulchres converted into places 
of abode for the living : but our eyes become 
fatigued with the incessant repetition of 
points and stars, and intersecting circles, gilt 



1CJ4 GEANADA. 

and silvered, and of various hues. We may 
admire the beauty of the situation, and the 
prospects ; we may for a short time be pleased 
with the infinity of details ; but a single view 
of the aqueduct of Segovia, of Pompey's 
pillar standing solitarily at the mouth of the 
Nile, or a glance upwards at the dome of St. 
Paul's to one who has never seen it before, 
is worth all the beauties of the Alhambra. 

Upon a height at the distance of two hun* 
dred yards from that part of the ridge on 
which the outer walls of the Alhambra stand, 
are the gardens and palace of Generalife. 
The copious run of water through the 
grounds, the beauty of the prospects, and 
the shaded walks, render this a delightful 
summer retreat. This appears to have been 
the palace of the Sultana, and here the 
Moorish style of building and ornament ap- 
pears in its proper place, and to the greatest 
advantage, connected with fountains, shady 
overarching bowers, baths, and cool retreats. 
Were I an architect employed to build a 
summer residence for a great monarch, I 
would study minutely, and copy unsparingly 
from the Alhambra and the Generalife, but 
for his palace I would look to other models. 

The hatred of the inhabitants of Granada 



GRANADA. 



against Frenchmen, and the exertions which 
they had made and were making in favour of 
the general cause, I found to be at least 
equal to those of any other town in Spain. 
From its situation, the nature of the country, 
and the spirit of the people, I consider Gra- 
nada as likely to become the centre of im- 
portant military operations, and as the last 
part of Spain which will ever submit to a 
foreign yoke. Since the commencement of 
the war with France, thirty thousand men 
fully armed and accoutred had been sent out 
of this city; not that such a number was 
entirely raised here, but collected together, 
equipped, and formed into battalions. A 
great number of workmen were constantly 
employed in making accoutrements. By a 
recent decree, all the arms in the possession 
of individuals were to be delivered up for 
the use of the army, at a stipulated price. 
Traitors were denounced, and the gallows 
were ordered to remain with their ladders 
constantly standing, for such as should be 
found guilty of being false to their country. 
In the great square of Triumph, before the 
gate of Elvira, bodies of men were in constant 
exercise ; and over the gate, in iron cages, 
were the heads of two traitors who had been 

n 2 



196 



GHANADA* 



executed not three months previous. All 
this shewed an energy and a disposition which 
if in some instances misapplied, might how- 
ever be expected to ripen into good. But 
with these were mixed processions, wax 
tapers, holy images, and holy thorns ; and 
friars, black, white, and grey, with all their 
trumpery. Before one of the principal 
churches, for several evenings in succession, 
fire-works were displayed in honour of the 
Virgin, and to propitiate her favour. The 
sacred image of the afflicted Mother, with 
her dead Son upon her knees, was stuck 
round with various coloured lamps ; an excel- 
lent band of music played ; and a great con- 
course of people was assembled to see the fire- 
works, and honour the Virgin. The glitter of 
the lamps, the cheerful sound of the music, the 
playing of the fountains before the church 
adorned with green boughs, and the clear light 
of the moon, all rendered the scene sufficiently 
interesting, not as a religious ceremony, but 
as a public amusement. Within the church 
was the same mixture ; many pious, many 
gazers, many superstitious. One woman on 
entering fell upon her knees, and in that 
manner worked her way to the altar, where 
haying muttered a prayer, and crossed herself 



GRANADA. 1Q7 

repeatedly, she rose, walked backwards to the 
door, when she knelt again, and proceeded as 
before: the ceremony was thrice repeated: 
and thus did this deluded woman seek to 
honour the great God of heaven and earth ! 
In vain has our beneficent Father given to us 
a countenance to look towards heaven, and a 
form by which we touch the ground only with 
our extremities, if the iron chain of super* 
stition is thus to drag us to the earth. We 
need not go to Spain for an example. How 
vast a sect is there amongst ourselves, which 
denominates itself the only Christian, and 
thinks to honour God by calling his image a 
vile worm, and grovelling with it in the dust! 

Fortunately, my friendly reader, we are not 
confined to these degrading scenes. We are 
travellers, perhaps we have before been toge- 
ther, and are accustomed to move with 
rapidity. The remedy is in our own hands. 
Eight hours will transport us into the bosom 
of the Sierra Nevada, or Sierra of Snow; we 
will leave behind Granada, its Alhambra, ita 
palaces, its churches, its convents, and its 
superstitions, and seek a temple worthy of our 
purer rites. In spite of Jewish prohibitions,, 
I delight to worship God in high places. 



THE SIERRA NEVADA, 



CHAP. IX. 

Ascent to the Sierra Nevada. 

Granada itself stands at an elevation of 
pearly nine hundred yards above the level of 
the sea, and being at the very extremity of 
the plain, the road to the Sierra begins 
immediately to ascend. I procured a young 
Spaniard to go with me as a guide, who, 
when asked by the landlord whether he was 
able to walk so far, replied, that he could 
at least march as well as an Englishman. I 
was not unwilling to put that to the test. He 
was young and active, and apparently well 
calculated to resist fatigue. On the ap- 
pointed morning he presented himself fully 
equipped, with a plaid like that of a Scottish 
Highlander thrown over his shoulder, a short 
5panish musket in his hand, and a belt, in 
which was stuck his knife, and to which a 
pouch was attached for his cartridges. To 
these J added a leathern bottle filled with 
wine; and being warned that I might not find 
a \)td in ijie mountains, I carried my cloak 



^THE SIERRA NEVADA 



199 



over my shoulder in the Spanish style. About 
eleven o'clock we set off, and had scarcely 
got clear of the town when we began to 
ascend. The country at first was very little 
interesting, and we soon lost sight of the 
city. The ground afterwards became broken 
into innumerable narrow ridges, and deep 
ravines worn by the winter torrents. Some 
of these ridges were green with cultivation to 
the edges of the precipice, and appeared like 
gardens amidst immense fortifications ; whilst 
others were barren and brown. As we 
ascended, the fertile plain of Granada appeared 
gradually opening to the view, but I forbore 
as much as possible to look back, reserving 
those prospects for my return. By degrees 
the Sierra assumed a grander form, the 
ridges became loftier, sharper, and more 
distinct ; the precipices darker and more pro- 
found ; and we began to enjoy at intervals 
line prospects of the mountains to the west 
and south-west of the plain of Granada. My 
guide, however, made frequent halts ; in 
spite of all his efforts he lagged heavily be- 
hind ; and so slowly did he at length proceed 
that I was induced to ease him of his musket, 
which I carried for him. At length we 
reached a small green spot, where a spring of 



SOO SHE SIERRA NEVADA. 

- ' "• 

water and the shade of a rock tempted us to 
stop, to the no small joy of my companion. 
We were proyided with cold partridges, 
bread and wine, and thu§ dined in solitary 
grandeur amid rocks and overhanging 
mountains. Thus refreshed we proceeded 
with alacrity, passing a number of small ri- 
vulets, the sources of which were marked by 
long stripes of lively green down the dusky 
sides of the hill both above and below the 
road. After some time we arrived at a fine 
plain, from which the moisture of the winter 
rains had not yet evaporated, and which con- 
sequently was covered with verdure. 

Here, while surveying the form of the sur* 
rounding mountains, I noticed my companion 
hastily preparing his musket. Five men 
armed, and of a savage appearance, were 
already close upon us ; but we soon observed 
a number of partridges and wild pigeons 
Stuck in their belts, which shewed them to 
be merely the hunters of the mountains, and 
relieved our apprehensions. Having passed 
this plain, we soon found ourselves in the 
bosom of the Sierra, among wild mountains, 
chasms, torrents, precipices, and rocks. Be- 
fore us, and constantly in view, was the lofty 
peak, tha object of our excursion, covered 



THE SIERRA NEVADA. 201 



with dazzling snow. From the deception 
patural to mountainous countries, it appeared 
already close to us, although the nearest snow 
was still at the distance of six miles. At 
sunset we arrived at the Cortijo de Sail 
Geronirno, or the Farm of the Friars of Saint 
Jerome. These Cortijos are common all 
over Spain, being in general merely a house 
in the midst of a tolerably fertile district, he- 
longing to some church or convent: this 
district and house are sometimes let by the 
year, but most commonly held immediately 
by the church for grazing cattle, and for the 
family to take care of them. The Cortijo of 
Saint Geronirno is situated on the steep side 
of one of the vallies which are derived imme- 
diately from the peak. Behind and round it 
are strewed immense rocks, inaccessible even 
to goats, but on the summits of one or two 
of which the pious peasants had contrived to 
erect a rude cross of wood. Beneath in the 
bottom of the valley flows a small stream, 
one of the tributaries of the Qarro, fed by tne 
melted snow. The house itself was small 
and rudely built, but we were kindly received 
by a decent female superintendant of the 
farm. One man was at once her servant 



202 



THE SIERRA NEVADA* 



and her sole companion among these moun- 
tains, and it was easy to see from the nature 
of his attentions that he was no more. I 
asked her how a single woman could think 
of living in so strange a manner with one of 
the rudest of Spanish herdsmen ; but she told 
me in reply that she had been placed in that 
situation by a reverend father of the convent, 
who had always been her friend, and never 
failed to spend some part of the summer in 
holy meditation in the mountains. 

Sailad and coarse brown bread were the 
only supper we could procure. Wine was 
here almost unknown/ and the peasant was 
delighted to be allowed to partake of what 
remained in my leathern bottle. After supper 
the good woman recited a long rosary, to 
which the servant and my guide, with their 
hats off, made the responses. Having finished, 
and besought the Virgin to take them under 
protection for the night, a few sheep-skins 
and a bolster of straw were laid upon the 
ground for my bed, the two Spaniards 
stretched themselves out in the large chim- 
ney corner, the friend of the holy father of 
Saint Geronimo retired to her apartment 
above stairs ; and I, covered with my cloak, 



THE SIERRA NEVADA. 203 



soon fell fast asleep, praying that the weather 
might continue favourable for our further 
progress. 

We rose by dawn of day. The morning 
was charming, but my companions were shi- 
vering with cold, although not exceeding 
that often experienced in England on a fine 
morning in autumn. As soon as the shadow 
of the peak became visible on the snow to the 
westward, we set out. The deep chasm or 
valley on our right led directly to the bottom 
of the peak, but other chasms from the 
heights on our left, opening into this prin- 
cipal one, intersected our path at every in* 
terval of five or six hundred yards, and occa- 
sioned us infinite trouble in passing them. 
By degrees the sides and bottoms of these 
chasms became covered with snow, fragments, 
of broken ice, and rocks smooth with the 
dew frozen on their surface, to which the sun 
had not yet reached. At length we arrived 
where all traces of vegetation were Jost and 
buried beneath the snow which extended in 
every direction to the summit of the peak. 
Here my guide, fatigued and alarmed, would 
proceed no farther, but pointed out some 
broken rocks on the left, called the Heights of 
Saint Francisco, at the foot of w 7 hich he pro- 
mised to watqh my progress and await my 



304 



THE SIERRA NEVADA* 



return. I ascended now alone, more cau- 
tiously and slowly, along the summit of a 
ridge which appeared to terminate at the 
bottom of the very highest part of the peak. 
Sometimes the surface of the snow was 
softened, and I sunk up to the mid-leg, not 
without occasional apprehensions, until I 
found myself uniformly -stopped by a frozen 
bank beneath. At other times my progress was 
along so slippery a surface that I proceeded 
with the utmost difficulty, being frequently 
obliged to break small holes with my stick, and 
crawl upon my hands and knees. In this manner 
however I surmounted all the neighbouring 
peaks and ridges of mountains, an elevation 
of which I was made fully sensible by the 
sudden change of the atmosphere. Bathed 
as I was in perspiration, an extremely cold 
wind all at once blew upon me and caused an 
instant chill over my whole frame, the effects 
of which I felt long afterwards. But the 
sight of the highest peak to which I was now 
so near inspired me with fresh courage, and 
after great exertions I arrived to within two 
hundred yards at farthest of perpendicular 
height from the summit. Here all farther 
progress became impossible. I had now got 
to the end of the ridge on which I had pro- 
ceeded so long, and nearly to its junction with 



THE SIEKRA NEVADA. 205 

the highest part of the peak, which ro^e be- 
fore me exceedingly steep, and entirely co- 
vered with frozen snow. I endeavoured to 
make holes with my stick, and to ascend in a 
slanting direction ; but having proceeded 
twenty or thirty paces, and stopping to take 
breath, on casting my eyes downwards I was 
not a little alarmed to find, that from the 
moment of leaving the summit of the ridge, 
I had incurred the danger of slipping down 
into a tremendous valley on one side of it. 
I almost turned giddy with the sight. The 
pieces of frozen snow which I had broken off 
slid down with astonishing rapidity, and clearly 
shewed me what my fate must be should I 
make a single false step. Having stopped a 
few minutes ta recover myself and become 
familiarised with the sight of the deep valley 
of ice, I retraced my footsteps, and never felt 
more thankful than when I regained the 
summit of the ridge- I was not before 
aware that in so short a distance I could have 
incurred so great a danger. From this point 
I was fain to content myself with the views of 
the surrounding mountains, which appeared 
everywhere tossed in great confusion, al- 
though all apparently connected with, or 
branching from the high mountain on which 



20(5 



THE SIERRA .NEVADA* 



I stood. It did not appear possible^ even if 
provided with proper instruments, to group 
them under any form, so strangely did they 
intersect each other. Towards the east the 
view was intercepted by the peak and its slope 
in that direction, but on every other side it 
was a stormy sea of mountains. The peak is 
upwards of nine thousand feet above the level 
of the sea, and nearly seven thousand above 
the city of Granada, Although not at the 
very summit I was so near as to be able 
clearly to distinguish the mountains which 
separate the province of Granada from that 
of Andalusia, those towards the northern 
parts of Murcia, the Sierra of Malaga, and 
the mountains towards Gibraltar. On some 
of these ridges immense white clouds rested 
as if immoveable, on others dark storms ap- 
peared to be brooding, whilst some were in a 
blaze of sunshine from their bare and stony 
summits to where they mingled with the plains. 

Whilst surveying these grand scenes, I 
noticed that the peak was beginning to at- 
tract light clouds round it, and knowing how 
suddenly tempests arise in these elevated re- 
gions, I hastened to descend. In about an 
hour I joined my guide, whom I found full 
of apprehensions for my fate. Another hour 



THE SIERJRA NEVADA, 



207 



brought us to the Cortijo, where we dined 
upon the simple mess of the good people, 
which consisted of nothing more than beans 
and tomatas stewed together, with water for 
our beverage. In the afternoon I bade fare- 
well to my kind hostess, after with difficulty 
prevailing upon her to accept of a trifling 
recompence. The summit of the peak was 
already enveloped in clouds, and thick flashes 
of lightning gleamed along the snow. We 
quickened our footsteps, and having con- 
stantly to descend, soon left the threatening 
storm far behind us. The views of the plain 
of Granada during the greater part of this 
descent were charming, seen through open- 
ings of the mountains, or over successive 
ridges of unequal heights, one belqw another. 
In the mountains on our right, and forming 
a branch of the Sierra Nevada, were the 
quarries where the finest marble in Spain is 
found, and large blocks of which have been 
carried to Madrid for building the Royal 
Palace. In three hours we arrived within 
sight of Granada, where I turned to take a 
view of the Sierra before the night closed. 
Already the scene was changed : the storm 
had dispersed in that direction, and white 
clouds alone appeared on the dazzling summit 



208 THE SIERRA NEVADA* 

of the peak \ while to the westward, the tops 
of the black Sierras between the plain of Gra- 
nada and the strait of Gibraltar were marked 
by long streaks of a deep red surmounted by 
thick clouds, By degrees these clouds covered 
all the sky, my guide foretold a stormy night, 
and we reached Granada just as the first 
heavy rain began to fall. 

In the summer the whole Sierra is full of 
shepherds and their flocks, hunters, and par- 
ties of pleasure. It is then possible to ascend 
the highest peak, and the view from it must 
rank among the finest on the globe. The 
mountaineers assured me, that in a fine clear 
morning the high land on the Barbary shore 
was visible, which is perfectly credible, the 
Mediterranean not being in the intervening 
space above eighty or ninety miles in breadth. 
I have been sailing with light airs for three 
days near the African coast, having the sum- 
mit of the Sierra Nevada constantly in sight, 
far above the horizon, and indeed at times 
above the clouds. Traditions are also nu- 
merous among these peasants, respecting' 
the period when the Moors held Granada : 
they affirm that the Sierra was at one period 
thickly inhabited. For seven winters it had 
not snowed ; and in a foolish security, habita- 



THE SIERRA NEVADA. 209 

tions were constructed in every direction. 
At length, in the eighth winter, on a dark 
night, so deep a snow fell, that all within the 
Sierra were buried beneath it. Even now, 
after very hot summers, when the frozen 
snow cracks, houses and other traces of the 
Moors are often visible in the chasms : then 
also the various strata of ice, which have 
been formed in successive years, may be 
clearly distinguished ; from which it would 
appear that the snow here becomes frozen, 
and perpetually accumulates. 

As Mount Vesuvius is to Naples, so is the 
Sierra Nevada to Granada, a neighbouring 
object of the greatest natural interest, al- 
though from very different causes. Vesuvius, 
vomiting fire and smoke, and shaking the 
surrounding country with its convulsions, is 
at once the boast and the terror of the Nea- 
politans ; but the Sierra Nevada tempers the 
summer heats of Granada, and shelters it 
from the winter storms ; quarries of valuable 
marble abound in its dependent ridges ; and 
the Darro and the Genii, which water the city, 
are fed by the melting of its snows. On this 
account, the latter river, particularly, increases 
in coldness and quantity of water as the sum- 
mer advances ; there is even then a kind of tide, 

o 



there being always more water in the evening* 
after the sun has operated all day upon the 
snow and ice, than in the morning after the 
coolness of the night. This river, the Sin- 
gilis of the Romans, runs past the town on 
its southern side, and with considerable rapi* 
dity to the west, where it is joined in the 
plains by the Monachil and the Dilar, two 
small streams, which also rise in the Sierra 
Nevada. It is afterwards increased by the 
Beyro and the Belillos, leaves the immense 
plain of Granada near Loja, and after passing 
Ecija, joins the Guadalquivir at Palma. 

The source of the Darro is about ten miles 
from that of the Genii, and the two streams 
are never far separated. The Darro forms a 
fine cascade, at no great distance from its 
source in the mountains of Guetor ; collects 
a number of small streams in the Sierra, and 
after running past the bottom of the heights 
of Generalife and the Alhambra, passes 
through the centre of Granada, and turning 
suddenly to the south, soon loses itself in the 
Genii. Gold is frequently found in small 
particles in the bed of this stream. Its banks 
are in general steeper and more romantic 
than those of the Genii ; and the number of 
one-arched bridges which cross it in its course 



GRANADA'* 



tli rough the city> have a good effect when 
the quantity of water is at all considerable. 

Upon th6 whole, I cannot but consider 
Granada as at least equal, if not superior in 
interest, to any town which I have yet seen in 
Spain. The climate here is cooler, and more 
congenial to English habits, than in the 
plains ; and the great elevation above thfe 
level of the sea renders the air almost perpe- 
tually pure and healthy. The disorders which 
so often ravage the towns along the borders 
of the Mediterranean are here unknown ; 
and slight shocks of earthquakes, which how- 
ever have never yet occasioned any serious 
injury, are all that need here be apprehended. 
A snow-covered mountain, upwards of nine 
thousand feet in height, at the distance of a 
few leagues on one hand, and a fertile plain of 
twenty miles in length on the other * are 
objects which the eye can never tire in con- 
templating, and which having once seen, 
we take pleasure in frequently recalling to our 
remembrance. Having viewed the sublime 
objects of nature, the traveller will stop to 
consider the works of man ; he will fre- 
quently visit the Alhambra, and whatever he 
may think of the taste there displayed, he 
cannot fail to consider with deep attention 



21$ 



GRANADA. 



its past history and its present fate. In his 
musings he may reflect, that monarchs and 
great nations are, like himself, travellers along 
the surface of the globe ; and be at once 
grieved and admonished by the reflection, 
that the monuments which man erects to 
perpetuate his name, are almost universally 
mearly as frail and as perishable as himself. 



tin:: 



ROUTE TO MALAGA* 



213 



CHAP. X. 

Route from Granada, through Alhama and 
Felez, to Malaga — Malaga — and passage 
to Gibraltar. 

Having already experienced the dangers 
of travelling with unarmed carriers, I sought 
out a party that was better provided for tra- 
velling in this country. The chief agreed 
to carry me and my portmanteau to Malaga 
for eight dollars, for which sum I was also to 
be fed upon the road. 

In the morning of the 8th of March the 
greater part of the muleteers set off, and in 
the afternoon the master and I followed, 
mounted on two good mules, and both well 
armed. After crossing the Genii, the 
road for upwards of three leagues was 
over fertile and cultivated plains, which gra- 
dually yielded to small and barren hills. 
About sunset we came to a deep valley, into 
which we descended, and crossed the Cazin, 
a clear and rapid stream, near a small village 



214 ALHAMA. 

of the same name, and distant about five 
leagues from Granada. The steep ascent up 
the opposite side of the valley is nearly half a. 
league. After passing through a singularly 
deep cleft in the hills, we reached Alhama 
about eight o'clock. Even by the light of 
the stars it was easy to discern the romantic 
situation of this town as we wound up the 
hill, and the ensuing morning enabled me 
to survey it more particularly. It is seated 
chiefly on a rocky height elevated more than 
three hqndred feet above the level of a small 
stream which flows in the valley beneath, and 
is here called the Tajp, or River of Alhama. 
Its proper name is the Marchan, and it rises 
about a league off. ^he view from that part 
of the town overhanging the stream is parti- 
cularly beautiful. The rock is here nearly 
perpendicular, and we see beneath our feet a 
charming yaWeyt bordered on each side by 
steep and yoniantic cliffs, the summits and 
hollows of which are covered with trees, 
At the bottom are several mills turned 
jrpund by the rushing stream. At the dis- 
tance of two miles lower down to the left we 
discern a rocky glen, through which foams a 
mountain torrent, and falls into the river of 
Alhama. In this glen are several hot springs, 



ALHAMA. 



215 



gushing up close to the cold stream, which 
appear to the good people here as little short 
of a miracle. They accordingly ascribe su- 
pernatural powers to these springs, which in* 
deed were highly esteemed in the time of the 
Moors, and if we may believe tradition, have 
caused the dumb to speak, the lame to walk, 
and the blind to see. In all ages, and among 
all nations, a kind of superstitious belief in 
the efficacy of natural warm springs has more 
or less prevailed. 

Alhama is still a considerable town, though 
evidently much decayed from its former 
Moorish grandeur. An extensive aqueduct 
still exists in good preservation, but the castle 
has fallen into ruins. There has been every 
motive to preserve the one, but none to main- 
tain the other since the expulsion of the 
Moors. The traces of that people however 
are still visible, not much in the public 
buildings, but in the features of the inhabit- 
ants. Their general complexion and cast of 
countenance are decidedly Moorish. The 
chief muleteer resided in Alhama, and I was 
kindly received and treated by his family; but 
although his own -features and those of his 
wife and children clearly shewed a Moorish 
origin, he boasted much of the purity of his 
blood, which he affirmed to be derived from 



ALHAMA. 



untainted Castilian veins. His house was or- 
namented in several parts with paintings of the 
family arms, under which was his own name, 
with the words "Hijo d'Algo" or, (the son of 
somebody,) attached to it. This is the deriva- 
tion of Hidalgo; but I did not expect to have 
found in a Spanish muleteer the son of any 
body whatever. 

On the ensuing morning the rest of the 
muleteers, as before, set off at an early hour, 
whilst we did not leave Alhama till eleven 
o'clock. The path was very bad during 
almost the whole of this day, being naturally 
rough, and now rendered slippery by late 
rains. The views however were romantic 
and constantly changing. After descending 
from the heights of Alhama, we passed over 
a fine plain nearly covered with holm-oaks, 
having close on our left a ridge called the 
Sierra Texada, covered half way down with 
snow. Here all the dogs guarding the flocks 
wore collars, in which iron spikes were fas- 
tened, as a security against the wolves, which 
we were told abounded among these hills, 
and were now rendered desperate by the 
snow. From this Sierra the ground con- 
stantly declines towards the south, to the 
shores of the Meditterranean. Three 
leagues brought us to the pass of Zaf- 



TELEZ MALAGA. 



faraya, between high mountains, and near 
to which was a solitary Venta, almost 
the only one which we had seen since 
leaving Alhama. In this pass we met up- 
wards of four hundred men, in different 
parties, mostly on foot, going to Granada to 
be prepared for the army. Some of the 
officers rode on asses ; and those who wore 
uniforms presented when thus mounted a 
very grotesque appearance. 

As w r e approached Velez Malaga, after pass- 
ing the Village de la Vinola, fresh symptoms 
of irrigation became visible, and our road led 
charmingly among gardens of orange and 
lemon trees, close upon the banks of the small 
river Velez. Near to the town long avenues 
of trees border the road, through which we 
first discover a white tower on the summit of 
the hill. Proceeding a little farther, the 
whole town is discovered, pleasantly situated 
on the side of a hill fronting the west, and 
of an exteht apparently sufficient to justify 
the common estimate of the population, 
which is reckoned at about eight thousand 
souls. It was called Menoba by the Ro- 
mans ; and subsequently Velez Malaga by the 
Moors, who greatly enlarged it and from 
whom it was taken about seven hundred 
years ago. It is now called Velez Malaga 



218 



VELEZ MALAGA. 



de la Santa Cruz, from a piece of the true 
cross with which it was formerly gifted and 
purified from all Mahometan stains. Besides 
the churches, it contains two convents for 
nuns, and four for friars. 

The principal posada is very large, and 
stands without the town, but the attendance 
and accommodations I found even more than 
usually wretched. The fact is, that there is 
no word in our language which gives the 
meaning of posada, except it be caravansera, 
a term almost as little understood. The 
posadas of Spain are indeed the caravanseras 
of the east, with the few approaches towards 
the nature of an inn which the lapse of time 
has introduced. The eastern traveller uni- 
formly carries with him his mat and his pro- 
visions, the latter of which he renews at well- 
known villages or towns along his route. At 
the approach of night he looks towards a 
caravansera, not as a cheerful residence 
where for money he may procure every ac- 
commodation, but merely as a cover for his 
cattle, and a bare apartment where he may 
spread his mat and eat his provisions in 
peace. Now this is exactly the case in a 
Spanish posada. You ask for an apartment, 
for which you pay a certain sum ; but it is 



YELEZ MALAGA* 21$ 

never thought extraordinary that you bring 
your own provisions and wine with you : on 
the contrary, if travelling in a carriage, the 
latter is the more common practice; and 
when the posadas are in towns, many Spanish 
travellers go out and purchase their bread, 
fruit, meat, and vegetables, which they pro* 
cure to be cooked according to their fancy. 
Hence Englishmen travelling in Spain do not 
shew their good sense by inveighing against 
posadas, or comparing them to the inns of 
their own country. They never were founded 
with that intention ; on the contrary, the 
greater part of the conveniences which they 
contain, slender as they may appear, are so 
many innovations upon the original system. 
Should a native of the east travel in England 
with the determination of making every thing 
bend to his own custom, instead of suiting 
himself to those of the country, he would 
find himself very awkwardly situated in our 
inns, with his wallets and his carpet, if indeed 
he were not turned neck and heels out of 
the very first where he ventured to exhibit 
them. But accustomed as we are to purchase 
every thing, but honour, with money, there 
are salutary lessons to be learned in countries 
where gold cannot procure even the comforts 

3 



220 KOUTE TO MALAGA. 

which we have been habituated to consider not 
merely as common, but indispensable. 

We left Velez at seven on the ensuing 
morning. The country on both sides of the 
road appeared highly cultivated, with evident 
symptoms that the system of irrigation esta- 
blished by the Moors was here still well un- 
derstood and preserved. After some time 
we crossed the gravelly bed of the Velez, 
bordered on each side with lofty white pop- 
lars. A black mold discolouring the water, 
which was stirred up by the hoofs of our 
mules, shewed the rich stratum underneath, 
and which was but partially covered by peb- 
bles of quartz and granite brought down 
by the stream from among the mountains. 
In about an hour we gradually lost the culti- 
vated country, and at no great distance gained 
a view of the sea ; that object always grand 
and always interesting. Our road led directly 
down to it, and then turning to the right, 
continued along the shore nearly to Malaga. 
The water was smooth, and instead of dark 
forests, rugged ridges, and peaks covered with 
snow, I beheld fishermen dragging their nets, 
small barks at anchor, and farther out, the 
distant white sails of vessels, which, although 
going with a favourable breeze, scarcely 



ROUTE TO MALAGA. 221 



seemed to move along the horizon. Here 
and there on the right were plantations of the 
sugar-cane, which, except some near Gra- 
nada, were the first which I had yet seen in 
Europe. By degrees we left the shore, and 
ascended a rising ground, which projected so 
far into the water as to render it tedious to 
go round it. Martello towers stood as tele- 
graphs from height to height all along the 
coast, and some were farther strengthened by 
redoubts faced with stone. From the rising 
ground we look across the bay of Malaga, 
and behold on the opposite side the town of 
Curiana; but ? Malaga itself does not appear on 
this side until we are nearly within two miles 
of it. Here the first objects that strike us 
are the ruins of the old Moorish towers on a 
hill to the east of the town, and the cathe- 
dral rising above all the other buildings. As 
we approach, we discover the mole, and the 
^hipping which it shelters, the new custom- 
house, and the principal alameda or walk, 
adorned with an elegant fountain, and planted 
with trees. At one end of the alameda, and 
fronting it, is the hotel of Las Quatro Na- 
ciones, where I took up my residence, and 
where I found four English gentlemen with 
whom I had formed an acquaintance at Gra- 



222 



MALAGA, 



nada. Three of them afterwards accompa^ 
iried me to Barbary, and we made our re- 
searches at Malaga together. 

Malagi stands close to the sea, at the foot 
of a ridge of hills which gradually recede from 
the shore, and leave a spacious plain to the 
north and west. On the east the hills are 
considerably steep, but not lofty ; and on the 
summit of one immediately above the town 
stands an old Moorish castle, connected with 
the remains of one lower down by a double 
wall. In these lower remains are evident 
traces of Roman workmanship. A light- 
house, supposed to have been also erected by 
the Romans, formerly stood on the top of the 
hill, which on that account was called by the 
Moors, Gibelfaro, or the Hill of the Light- 
house, although they afterwards destroyed 
that building to make room for the present 
castle. It is now called the hill of St. Chris- 
topher, and from it we have a fine view of the 
town ; the two capes, El Cantal to the east, 
and Torremolinus on the west, which form 
the bay of Malaga ; the mountains which 
stretch towards Gibraltar; and the distant 
high lands on the Barbary coast. Beneath 
lies the port, defended towards the east by a 
good mole, and generally well filled with 



MALAGA 



223 



vessels and small coasting barks. The view 
along shore to the eastward is bounded by 
the hills, but to the south and south-east 
the Mediterranean is stretched out before us. 

Malaga is undoubtedly of great antiquity ; 
the name is said to be derived from a Pheni- 
cian word, signifying to salt, the town being 
originally founded by that nation for the 
purpose of curing the fish caught upon ih ?. 
coast. Even in the time of the Romans it 
would appear, from some inscriptions and 
coins which have been dug up 3 that a great 
Company of Merchants enjoyed a monopoly 
of salting fish, which was carried on to a 
vast extent. It is mentioned by Pliny un- 
der the name of Malaca ; and Strabo says, 
that it stands at the same distance from Calpe, 
that Calpe does from Cadiz. Hence in so 
many ages it has changed neither its situa- 
tion, nor its name. The mountains behind 
the town are also said by Strabo to have 
yielded gold, but the mines are now either 
exhausted or unknown. These mountains 
form evidently one of the many branches of 
the great peak of Granada, from which they 
descend by the way of Antequera. A small 
stream runs past the city, called the River of 
Malaga, and sometimes the Guadalmedina, 



224 



MALAGA. 



derived from the Moorish, and signifying the 
River of the City. 

In the year 1487, Malaga was taken from 
the Moors ; and in 1528, the building of the 
cathedral commenced, and is not yet com- 
pleted. It is evidently built upon the same 
model as that of Granada, having three naves, 
with the choir in the centre ; and although 
not in a correct taste, is still a magnificent 
structure. 

In the chapel of the Kings is shewn an 
image of our Lady the Virgin, which it is 
said the ancient catholic kings carried with 
them in all their military expeditions. 

The Alameda, or public walk, is broad, 
planted with trees, and kept in good order. 
At one end is a marble fountain, said to have 
been presented by Charles the Fifth to the 
republic of Venice ; to have been taken at 
sea by the famous corsair, Barbarossa ; re- 
taken by the Spanish gallies, under Don Ber- 
nardina de Mendoza, and by him landed at 
Malaga, where it has been suffered to re- 
main. The design and general form are 
elegant, and do credit to the artist ; but there 
is an indelicacy in many of the figures disgust- 
ing to an English eye, especially when thus 
exhibited in a public walk. Not far from this 



/ 



MALAGA* 



225 



is the new Custom - house, an unfinished, but 
magnificent and extensive building; much 
more so indeed than the commerce of Ma- 
laga would seem to require. In laying the 
foundation, the mutilated statue of a woman 
in white marble was dug up ; which, by the 
remains of a Latin inscription found near 
it, appears to have been that of Cornelia Sa- 
lonica, wife of the Emperor Galienus. The 
present Theatre also stands upon the site of 
an ancient Roman amphitheatre, and even 
partly on the old foundations. A long Latin 
inscription over the front of the stage in- 
forms us of this fact ; and while witnessing a 
miserable exhibition of puppets and jugglers, 
I felt pleased by the unexpected discovery, 
that this very spot had been dedicated to 
theatrical amusements by the Romans two 
thousand years ago. " Vetustissima/' says 
the inscription ; and certainly few theatres 
now existing can vie with this in the anti- 
quity of their foundation. 

The finest wines of Malaga are the pro- 
duce of vines raised from slips brought by a 
German from the banks of the Rhine nearly 
two centuries ago. For a long period, wine 
has been here the principal article of export, 
but, of late, cotton has been raised in the siuv 

p 



226 MALAGA. 

rounding country in considerable quantities, 
and may in time form a valuable part of the 
Spanish produce. 

The population of Malaga I should com- 
pute at about thirty-five thousand souls, 
judging merely from the extent of the city ; 
for as to the computations of the Spaniards 
themselves, nothing can be more wild and 
erroneous than they generally are. In 1 7^9 
it was reckoned at fifty thousand souls ; but 
there is every appearance of a great decrease 
having taken place since that period. The 
water with which the city is supplied is 
brought from the distance of about six miles, 
by a conduit which has not been erected 
above thirty years. 

The regular intercourse in times of peace, 
and the smuggling during war, between Ma- 
laga and Gibraltar, naturally occasioned the 
inhabitants to be always friendly disposed 
towards England. In the same proportion was 
their hatred to Frenchmen displayed on the 
breaking out of the present war: some were 
murdered, others imprisoned, whilst many, as 
well from Malaga as from other parts of Spain, 
sought and found protection in Gibraltar. 
The hotel where we resided was kept by 



MALAGA. 



227 



two French women ; their sex had protected 
them from personal violence, but not from 
insult and suspicion. The mob broke into 
the house, and ransacked it in search of fugi* 
tives : fearing lest secret recesses might 
have been contrived, they sounded the walls, 
and wherever they appeared hollow they were 
broken into and narrowly examined. The 
holes formed in this manner w^re still re- 
maining ; nor indeed vould it have been 
safe for the mistresses of the house to close 
them up. 

I remained at Malaga five or six days ; a 
space of time fully sufficient to notice all that 
is worthy of observation in it-. It might here 
be proper to make some general observations 
on the route which we have traced ; but as it 
is possible we may yet visit Cadiz, I reserve 
them till finally quitting Spain. My English 
companions and I sailed in a British gun- 
boat for Gibraltar, with a favourable breeze, 
but blowing so fresh that the Spaniards could 
not conceal their astonishment at our ven- 
turing to sea. Several of their barks, equal 
or superior in size to our gun-boat, were 
bound for the same place, and ready to sail, 
but the masters would have thought it mad- 
ness to have followed jus, even after every 

p % 



$28 



MALAGA. 



invocation to the Holy Virgin. Our passage 
was rough, but short ; in eight hours from 
the time of our leaving Malaga, we anchored 
in the New Mole at Gibraltar; and in a short 
time I found myself once more within ih% 
batteries of that celebrated fortress. 



♦ 



GIBRALTAR. 



229 



CHAR XL 

Passage across the Straits. Ceuta. Tetuan 
— Its situation — Inhabitants — Jews — Sur- 
rounding Country— Departure. 

For a short time I leave the affairs of 
Spain. I am anxious to behold a race of 
men, the strong traces of whose manners 
and civil institutions every where surround 
me. The Spaniards represent them as blinded 
by a thousand prejudices, as slaves to their 
government, and bigots in religion, looking 
on strangers with a suspicious eye. Are 
they then describing their own character ? 

Three of the Englishmen with whom I 
had become acquainted at Granada joined 
with me in the plan of crossing over to the 
Barbary coast, and attempting to penetrate to 
Fez : these were Sir William Ingilby, Dr. 
Darwin, the son of Dr. Erasmus Darwin, and 
Mr. Theodore Gal ton. Our arrangements were 
soon made. As nothing can be done among 
the Moors without presents, we carried 



230 



PASSAGE ACROSS 



with us patterns of cloth of different cokmrs, 
each sufficient for a Moorish garment, some 
pieces of dimity, and a few smaller articles, 
amounting altogether in value to about two 
hundred dollars. We had also a tent, four 
small stools, and a folding table, a kettle, a 
frying pan, and whatever was requisite for the 
simplest operations of cookery. Above all 
we provided ourselves with an interpreter, a 
Jew, Samuel Serfaty by name, long resident 
at Gibraltar, but a native of Barbary, where 
the greater part of his family still was, and 
perfectly well acquainted with the language 
and customs of that country. Our total 
ignorance of these material points induced, 
or rather obliged us to rely perhaps rather 
too implicitly on this man. 

After various delays from contrary winds, 
we sailed in one of the boats employed to 
bring cattle from the Barbary shore to Gib- 
raltar. They are in general of about thirty 
to forty tons burthen, and rigged something 
like schooners. For two hours we were be- 
calmed beneath the reck, after which a fine 
northerly breeze sprung up, and we stretched 
across towards Ceuta. The breadth of the 
Strait is here about sixteen ipik*s. When 
about half way across, the views are particu- 

/ 



THE STRAITS. 



231 



larly interesting. Gibraltar from no other 
point of view presents itself under so im- 
posing a form. Viewed from the Bay, it 
presents a long and dull line of a barren 
ridge, over which the labour and improve- 
ment of a hundred years have only scattered 
a few spots of green. From the centre of 
the Straits we behold it rise in all its ma- 
jesty and all its importance. A sharp and 
conical summit on which stands the ruins of 
a tower struck by lightning, steep and inacces 
sible precipices, the bases of which are beaten 
by the restless waves, and the projecting parts 
of both sides of the rock, seen decreasing 
in perspective, all combine in forming an 
outline highly interesting. — It is Gibraltar ! 
What vessel can enter or come out of the 
Mediterranean without acknowledging the 
importance of that point ? To whatever side 
of the Strait we turn our eyes, we behold 
high mountains, dark vallies, and peaks. 
These are sometimes bare, and scorched with 
heat, sometimes green with the effects of the 
winter rains. The coasts of Africa and Spain 
seem counterparts of each other in height, 
in grandeur, in interest, in climate. The 
Moor might pass over to Spain, or the Spa- 



CEUTA. 



niard to Barbary, and each find in these, re- 
spects no difference of country. 

We passed close under the rocks of Ceuta. 
The town itself stands upon a narrow isth- 
mus, which towards the continent is inter- 
sected by ditches and lines of fortification^ 
and rises towards the sea into rocky heights. 
Upon these heights are batteries, which, if 
constructed and managed with skill, would ap- 
pear sufficient to render Ceuta nearly as im- 
pregnable as Gibraltar. From the point of 
Ceuta we crossed a small bay to another head- 
land, within which is the Bay of Tetuan. The 
wind continuing to favour us, we soon passed 
this promontory, when immediately a clear 
view opened upon us of the noble ridges of 
mountains which surround Tetuan, and of 
that city itself, extending in a white line along 
the ridge of a hill about five miles distant 
from the shore. In a short time we ap- 
proached the bottom of the bay, and an- 
chored at the mouth of a small river, the 
course of which was marked far into the 
green sea by its discoloured waters. Close 
on the beach stood a square white tower, 
destined both to point out the entrance of 
the river, and as a distinguished object on 



TETUAN 



233 



which to hoist the Moorish flag on the ap. 
proach of foreign vessels of war. Here we 
were quickly landed, after a passage of nine 
hours, and congratulated one another on the 
sandy beach of Africa. Our motley com- 
panions composed of Jews, Mahometans, and 
Genoese, landed and dispersed. We were 
soon left alone upon the shore, at the mercy 
of our Jewish interpreter. 

Whilst with a bustling activity orders 
were sent to Tetuan to provide horses and 
mules, we conversed with the master of a 
small Spanish bark, which was stranded on 
the beach. The whole shore was strewed 
with oranges, which we understood had 
formed the cargo, and which they were now 
busy in collecting. The master informed us, 
that a few days previous, his little vessel, 
when just on the point of sailing, had been 
forced on shore during a violent gale of 
wind, and through the protection of the 
Holy Virgin alone had been preserved from 
going all to pieces. Not only, however, 
had the lives of all on board been saved, but 
the vessel also preserved entire, and even the 
greater part of the cargo would be collected 
again. Seeing the patriotic cockades in our 
hats, he eagerly inquired after " buenas 
5 



234 



TETUAK*. 



noticias," or good news, the first object of 
inquiry with every Spaniard, who will credit 
the most extravagant fictions when they 
appear to redound to the honour of his 
country> but scarcely listen to the most se- 
rious truths which too sadly tell of its dis- 
grace. Even this slight chain served in a 
manner to connect in our minds Spain with 
the Barbary coast, Europe with Africa, 
After a short time mules and horses were 
brought, and we began our march for Te~ 
tuan. About a mile from the beach stands 
the Custom-house, a small white building 
on the left bank of the river. Here the 
mule with our baggage was stopped, merely 
as a pretext for draining us of a few dollars. 
At length, after sun-set, we proceeded over a 
muddy plain, where we had not gone far 
when the moon rose and threw a clouded 
light over the surrounding hills. Before 
reaching Tetuan the gates had been purposely 
closed ; another pretext for exacting money. 
Here our Jewish interpreter desired us to 
alight, and not being aware that it was meant 
as a humiliation, we did so without that re- 
luctance which we should otherwise have felt 
had we known that it was not permitted to 
us as Christians, unless under special favour, 

/ • 



TETUAX. 



235 



to pass the gates of a Mahometan city on 
horseback. The guard was armed with 
sticks and swords. On entering the gates 
we observed a small fountain, to which one 
or two Moors, who had accompanied us to 
take care of the horses, immediately repaired 
to perform their ablutions and repeat their 
prayers. We then remounted and pursued 
our course upwards through the narrow 7 , 
dirty, and irregular streets, over which in 
many parts arches were thrown, apparently 
for the purpose of a mutual support to the 
houses on each side, which served as their 
abutments. At length we arrived at the 
quarter of the Jews, which was shut in by a 
gate, and where more money was to be paid 
to a Moor who guarded it. Nothing could 
exceed the dirtiness of this place. We waded 
up to the ancles in mud, whilst our nostrils 
were assailed by an abominable variety of 
smells, until we reached the house of our 
conductor, where we had agreed to pass the 
night. 

Here for the first time we saw the interior 
economy of a Jewish family. The wife of 
our conductor, who had not seen him for two 
years, betrayed no excessive fondness at his 
return, and he immediately set about .giving 



236 TETUAN* 

orders for our supper. A Moorish dish of 
fowls, millet, and eggs, was set before us ; 
after which, mattresses being spread on the 
floor, we gladly lay down and tried to sleep 
till morning. On the next day, however, 
we learned that there was a kind of inn in 
the place, kept by a Genoese woman who was 
protected by one of the principal Moors. We 
found this house infinitely preferable to that 
where we had passed the night, and provided 
with a garden surrounded by walls, where 
we might be wholly retired. Thither we re- 
paired and fixed our quarters during the re- 
mainder of our stay. 

The Governor of Tetuan being absent, our 
first care was to visit his representative. We 
found him sitting upon his mat in a small 
room open to the court or entrance of the 
palace, and were received with a civility 
which bespoke nothing of the Barbarian. 
Through our interpreter we made known 
our wish of seeing Fez, and begged permis- 
sion to proceed. He was extremely curious 
to know the object of our journey ; nor did it 
seem possible to make him, or any of the 
grave men who sat in council with him, com- 
prehend that the desire of beholding a country 
so different from our own was our sole mo- 



TETUAST. 237 

tive. Suspicions seemed to hang upon his 
mind that we had come to spy the nakedness 
of the land ; but he promised to write to the 
Governor in our behalf, it being beyond his 
authority to grant permission for strangers to 
go farther into the country. We were fain 
to rest content with this answer, which how- 
ever shewed us that we must remain in 
Tetuan perhaps for eight days before the 
messengers could return. Our names were 
taken down by the Secretary, in Moorish 
characters, and then repeated to us to ascer- 
tain their accuracy, with such uncouth pro- 
nunciation that we had some difficulty in re- 
taining our gravity. As an apology for not 
making the usual presents, we informed the 
Sub-Governor that our baggage was at the 
Custom-house, with which he appeared sa- 
tisfied, and we took our leave. Notwith- 
standing the promise of immediately forward- 
ing our request, we were detained nearly 
three weeks on the most frivolous pretences* 
This delay gave us an opportunity of tho- 
roughly examining Tetuan and the surround- 
ing country, but completely frustrated the 
main object of our journey, namely, that of 
proceeding to the metropolis. 

Tetuan extends from north to south along 



23S 



TETUAN, 



the lower slope of a ridge of about a mile in 
length, and at the head of a beautiful plain, 
which opens gradually outwards to the sea. 
The town is surrounded by a wall of 
twelve or fourteen feet in height, with square 
towers at frequent intervals, but for the most 
part in bad repair. There is no artillery 
mounted except two or three miserable 
pieces which stick out above the principal 
gate, and which certainly could not sustain 
half a dozen successive discharges. On a 
hill above the town to the northward is a 
castle connected with the walls, which con- 
tain within them on that side a considerable 
space unoccupied by buildings or gardens. 
The guns of this castle completely command 
the town, but there are neighbouring 
heights still more elevated, of which an 
enemy having possession, would command 
both the castle and the town, and a great 
extent of neighbouring country. The plain 
of Tetuan is about six miles in length from 
the city to the sea shore, continually increasing 
in breadth as it approaches the sea, where it 
forms a very extensive flat bordered by steep 
mountains. In general the soil is extremely 
fertile, and in the upper parts well cultivated. 
A river winds through % at this season full of 



TETUAN. 239 

water, but having a bar on the mouth, on 
which at this time there was no greater 
depth than five feet. After the rains the 
depth of water rapidly decreases, and in 
summer the bar is nearly dry. This river has 
various names in different parts of its course : 
in one part it is called H The road of the 
bushes the bed forming in summer a road 
bordered with bushes and trees nourished by 
the winter rains. Near the town <' The river 
of the hollow and so on. On the opposite 
side are extensive gardens of orange trees, the 
fruit of which is excellent, and forms a great 
article of export even to Cadiz and other 
Spanish towns without the Mediterranean. 

The mountains to the south-east form a 
beautiful and romantic ridge, covered with 
green bushes, trees, and scattered spots of 
cultivation, high up towards their summits. 
We were anxious to visit them, and for this 
purpose applied to the Sub- Governor for 
horses and a guide, two days after our arrival. 
He sent us word in reply, that the roads wer§ 
so bad we could not possibly proceed. He 
had not yet received his present ; we there- 
fore hastened to get our baggage from the 
Custom-house, which we effected with little 



240 



TETUAN 



trouble, and then made our present of two 
small loaves of sugar, and some tea. The 
next morning we repeated our request, and 
were informed that the roads were excellent, 
and that it was only on our own account that 
permission had not been granted the preced- 
ing day. From this time, horses, mules, and 
soldiers for guides, were at our disposal, on 
our paying the usual rates. It was always 
expected, however, that we were to take the 
governor's mule, and that we should pay a 
dollar for the hire of it, more than double that 
for any of the others. Such are governors 
and deputy-governors in Barbary ! Under 
despotic governments (says Montesquieu) ho- 
nour is a principle wholly unknown. 

Could we have reconciled ourselves to the 
delay, and to the insults to which we were 
exposed if we moved out alone, there was 
every thing in the country surrounding Te- 
tuan to make our time pass away agreeably. 
Sometimes we crossed the river, and rode 
along the narrow paths which intersected the 
orange gardens, while the whole air was per- 
fumed with their blossoms. A small sum 
procured us admission into any of them, and 
the liberty of loading ourselves with the fruit 



TETUAW: 



241 



I found the trees planted in rows, with small 
trenches, to conduct the water to the roots^ 
exactly as in the plantations near Palma, at 
the junction of the Genii and Guadalquivir. 
Among these gardens, the most celebrated is 
that of Kytan, in the centre of which are 
the ruins of the palace of a Basha, who for- 
merly contended for some time against the 
Emperor of his day. He had pretensions to 
the crown, and was supported by the wild and 
hardy race which still people the neighbour- 
ing mountains ; but he was unsuccessful, and 
his ruined palace alone remains a memorial 
of his fate. At every step we meet with in- 
numerable proofs of the extreme ignorance 
of these people in the art of war, and conse^ 
quently in almost every other art. This 
palace, which stood a long siege, is com- 
manded by heights within musket shot. Yet 
the Moors have a high idea of their own mili- 
tary character. Talking to our soldier one 
day, he expressed great hatred of the French. 
We asked, why so more thai* of the English ? 
" Because," he replied, 66 the French would 
teke our country if they -could, as they have 
clone in Spain, and as they did with Egypt. 
But," added he, " they would not find us 
Egyptians ; we are men of Barbary," 



242 



TETUAX. 



I must confess I was astonished to find this 
hatred of the French very common among 
so ignorant a people. Their partiality to the 
English (if they deign to shew a partiality for 
any Christian) may be accounted for by the 
vicinity of Gibraltar, where many of their 
countrymen are established and protected, 
and which is supplied with a great part of its 
provisions from the Barbary coast. But the 
hatred against Spaniards is still greater than 
against Frenchmen. They ever keep in re- 
membrance that their forefathers were for- 
merly masters of all the opposite and fertile 
shores of the Mediterranean ; and that even 
after submission, and the most solemn com- 
pacts with their Spanish conquerors, they 
were driven from their homes and their 
native land. The circumstances attending 
that expulsion may be forgotten ; but the 
hatred excited by it, and by the wars after- 
wards carried on, still exists in all its force. 
We were repeatedly stopped in the streets by 
an exclamation addressed to us, and which 
our interpreter explained to be the Eng- 
lishman is very good, but the Spaniard 
stinks." At other times, however, we were 
subjected to those insults which every man 
in the European dress must be prepared oc- 



TETUAN. 



243 



casionally to encounter among Mahometans. 
The names of Infidel and Dog became fami- 
liar to oar ears. Some of the lowest classes 
at times held up their hands in a threatening 
manner, as if to strike us as we passed, and 
that without the slightest provocation : the 
boys especially took great delight in follow- 
ing and insulting the Christians : they called 
us by every opprobrious epithet, and not con- 
tent with that, often, at the city gates, saluted 
us with a vollev of stones, which we could 
neither avoid nor punish. There is much 
more of this barbarism here than at Smyrna 
or Constantinople. 

But the insults to which Christians are 
exposed are nothing when compared with 
those which the Jew must hourly suffer. As 
Christians we entered the gates on horseback, 
when returning from our ride, accompanied by 
a soldier. This sometimes created murmurs; 
but our Jewish companion was always obliged 
to dismount, and enter on foot, nor was he 
allowed even to ride through the streets, la 
passing a mosque, be the path ever so muddy, 
the Jew must take off his slippers ; scarcely 
dare he to look upon the pure house of prayer. 
At any time a Moor of the lowest cast may 

a 2 



244 



TETUAN. 



enter the house of a Jew, and commit a 
thousand insolences, which the other has 
not the power even to resent. It is on this 
account that the Jews reside in a separate 
quarter. A Mahometan keeps the gates, and 
by making suitable presents to him, the miser- 
able children of Abraham live in tolerable 
security. But their hatred against their ty- 
rants cannot be described: it is mixed with 
all that is base ; with fear, with rancour, with 
cunning. A Jew takes off his cap to a Moor, 
and curses him in his heart. He is pleased 
when they go to war, because they destroy 
each other. Our interpreter used to take a 
malicious pleasure in witnessing the Moors 
receive the bastinado, and in talking of it 
afterwards. When all human patience and 
resources fail, they have recourse to their 
religion : " We are obliged," said a Jew to 
me, \* to submit in this world to every species 
of indignity, but in the next we shall shine 
forth the chosen people of the Most High. 
Here we ride upon asses, and are insulted by 
the Moors ; there we shall ride upon horses, 
with crowns of gold on our heads; the Moors 
shall hold our stirrups, and run by our sides, 
whilst we kick them, strike them, and spit in 



TETUAtf. 245 

the rascals' faces."-— So saying, he spat upon 
the ground with great violence. 

The dress of the better sort of Moors con- 
sists of a linen shirt without collar, and 
with long and wide sleeves ; next a caftan or 
vest of cloth, which reaches to the calf of the 
leg, and is girt round the middle by a sash of 
party-coloured silk, or of fine cotton ; a paif 
of loose trowsers scarcely reaching below the 
knee ; and lastly, a kind of wrapper of light 
woollen stuff, which is thrown round them in 
folds ; the legs are bare, and on the feet they 
wear yellow slippers : a red peaked cap for the 
head completes the dress. Only the higher 
ranks wear turbans, generally those who have 
performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. Mus- 
tachios or beards are universally worn. In 
rainy weather they carry a kind of watch- 
coat of thick cloth, with a sharp peaked cowl 
to cover the head ; this, with a shirt and a 
pair of slippers, often forms the sole dress of 
the lower classes, who may be seen sitting in 
rows in the sun or the shade, models of dirt 
and indolence. 

The women have all an appearance of 
wretchedness in their external covering, 
which consists, like that of the men, of a 
wrapper of light woollen, enveloping them 



246 



TETUAtf. 



from head to feet. Every part of the head 
and face is covered except the eyes. The 
better sort wrap linen round their legs, but by 
far the greater part of those we saw in the 
streets were bare-legged ; all wore yellow 
slippers. But notwithstanding this miserable 
appearance, we were informed by the Jewish 
women that it was merely external. When 
they enter a house where they are paying a 
visit, and where no men are present, they 
throw aside their wrappers, and display great 
richness in their dress beneath ; caftans of 
silk, or the finest cotton, broad sashes of silk, 
ornamented with gold and silver, their hair 
adorned and perfumed, and bracelets set with 
pearls on their arms. 

The Jewish women, on the contrary, go 
with their faces unveiled ; and among them 
may be seen some of extraordinary beauty. 
They are fond of party-coloured robes, of 
silken sashes, of large rings, and broad brace- 
lets. They universally stain their nails of a 
yellow colour, and wear the hair formed intQ 
two long plaits, one hanging from each side 
of the head, and adorned with ribbons. The. 
common language both of men and women 
is a very bad Spanish. Such also I found to 
be the language of the Jews at Smyrna and 



TETfrAST; l£j 

Constantinople ; a clear proof of the amazing 
number of that people that must have been 
formerly driven out of Spain, and scattered 
all over the coasts of the Mediterranean. 

The streets of Tetuan are uniformly liar- 
row and unpaved ; and consequently, after a 
day's heavy rain, become almost impassable 
with mud. On this account, a small ridge 
runs through some of the principal streets, 
but so narrow, that one man can with diffi- 
culty walk along it. It rained for several 
successive days, with thunder and lightning, 
during our stay, and we then found it impos- 
sible to stir out. As however the roofs of all 
the houses are flat, we had a walk left to us 
in the intervals even of the hardest rains. 
The city w 7 all bordered our terrace, and by 
climbing its parapet we commanded a fine 
view of the neighbouring hills : yet even this 
excited suspicion ; and if we approached a 
spot where there were any Moors beneatft, 
they seldom failed to speak to us in an angry 
tone, and make signs for us to come down. 

The country round Tetuan is scarcely any 
where to be surpassed in natural fertility and 
beauty ; or in the romantic views afforded by 
the neighbouring hills. The plain was co- 
vered with crops of grain,, forming as it were 



248 



TETUAtt. 



one field, extending in some directions as 
far as the eye could reach, bounded in others 
by the river, the orange-garde us, or the hills. 
The Moors call Tetuan the garden of Bar- 
bary ; and certainly the European Consuls 
had much to regret when they were forced 
to exchange this very pleasant residence for 
the sandy soil of Tangiers. Game abounded 
in all directions: quails arose from under out- 
feet almost at every step; and the only real 
sportsman of our party sometimes brought 
home eight or ten brace, mixed with par- 
tridges of the large red-legged kind. The 
river and the marshes were covered with wild 
fowl ; the sides of the hills afford shelter to 
hares and rabbits. In the hands of an intel- 
ligent people this delightful spot might be 
rendered, not merely the garden of Barbary, 
but of all Africa. High among the moun- 
tains, to the south, we could plainly discern 
an immense waterfall ; apparently a river 
tumbling from the hills. We determined to 
visit so interesting an object ; but two days 
shewed us that it was merely transitory ; we 
could barely point out the spot where it had 
been, and the immense cascade ceased with 
the rains. 

Land is here let upon terms nearly similar 

4 



XETUAN. 



249 



to those still common in many parts of Eu- 
rope : the owner lets the ground on condition 
of receiving a certain proportion of the pro- 
duce ; sometimes he receives half the pro- 
duce, and often two-thirds when he furnishes 
the seed. In the orange-gardens purchasers 
generally give a certain sum for the future 
produce, taking all chances of the richness 
or failure of the crop. We saw several in- 
stances of the scrupulousness with which 
these contracts are observed. On entering 
some of the gardens near Kytan, the owners 
shewed us certain portions which we were 
not to touch. " The produce of these trees/ 5 
said they, €C is sold ; it is no longer ours; but 
all the rest we have a right to bestow, and of 
that make a free use." The usual price of 
oranges in the market is from one Spanish 
dollar and a quarter to one and a half per 
thousand ; the duty on exportation is a dollar 
and a half per thousand more ; and as I have 
already mentioned, Cadiz is the principal port 
to which they are carried, where they are 
generally retailed at a dollar per hundred. 

Besides this scrupulous honesty to be met 
with among the Moors in their transactions 
with each other, there is another striking 
trait in their character, which is derived from 



250 YETtfAN 1 . 

their religion, and is common to them vritfi 
all true Mahometans ; I mean a constant re- 
ference of every event, great or small, to the 
immediate agency or will of the Deity. Are 
they overtaken by a misfortune ? they resign 
themselves with patience, and say— " It is 
the will of God.'* On the other hand, the 
meu who accompanied us on our excursions 
seldom failed to make use of a short excla- 
mation, expressive of gratitude, as we passed 
through the rich corn fields that surrounded 
the city. "God -has given us," said they, 
" the latter rains. Glory to his name r Per- 
haps in many instances these expressions are 
mere forms taken from the korari, and coming 
only from the lips ; yet when we observe the 
general simplicity and apparent sincerity of 
their devotions, it would be unfair not to 
conclude that the heart also had frequently a 
share in these expressions. 

The population of Tetuaft is reckoned at 
about forty thousand souls-. The crowded 
manner in which they live, and the extent of 
the city, justify the computation. Of these, 
two thousand are Jews* and the remainder 
wholly Moorish, not being mixed, as farther 
up the Mediterranean, with Greeks, Arme- 
nians, and Franks. Every man is reckoned 



TETUAN, 



25! 



to be a soldier, liable at the shortest notice to 
be called into the field, by an order of the Em- 
peror. The whole is divided into companies 
of twenty-five men ; over each of which a 
captain presides, holding a civil as well as a 
military power, but to what extent I could 
not learn. Their arms in the field are mus- 
kets handsomely ornamented, at least a foofe 
longer than ours in the barrel, and propor- 
tionably narrower in the bore ; they carry 
besides, a straight sword with a horn handle, 
and sometimes a dirk or poniard. The use 
of the bayonet is wholly unknown ; and the 
cavalry is armed, like the infantry, with long 
muskets, but with crooked sabres instead of 
straight swords. Under any kind of discipline 
they might be rendered a formidable militia ; 
but, from what I could understand, so igno- 
rant are they of the first principles of war, 
that they take the field without forming ma- 
gazines ; and being thus in a manner con- 
strained to destroy the country through which 
they pass, generally lose one half of their 
numbers by absolute famine, before the ter- 
mination of what may be called their cam- - 
paign. They are however, upon the whole, 
a temperate, patient, and stout race of men ; 
but there is often something villainous in 



252 



TETUAtf. 



their looks, totally different from the haughty 
mien of the Turks, -which, when not too* 
brutal, impresses us with the idea of noble- 
ness. 

The despotic nature of the government is 
sometimes curiously exemplified in the delega- 
tion of that despotism to a private individual 
for one particular purpose only. An instance 
of this occurred not long before our arrival. A 
Moor had shot the only son of another, wi th- 
out any other provocation than that he found 
him gathering fruit in his garden. The 
cause was brought before the Emperor, and 
the fact being clearly proved, the offender 
was given up to the other to be used accord- 
ing to his pleasure. Many great men inter- 
ceded for the life of the culprit, but the other 
declared that nothing but his death would 
satisfy him for the murder of his only child. 
He put his threat into execution. After 
many inquiries, he found a black soldier, who 
agreed to be the executioner for six dollars, 
and he caused his prisoner to be shot near 
where his son had been killed. This fact 
was confirmed to me from several quarters. 
We scarcely know which to regard as the most 
singular in this event, the horrible nature of 
despotism, or the patience of the culprit, who 



TETUAN. 



appears to have resigned himself to the de- 
cree of the despot as if it had been that of 
Heaven itself. 

Our interpreter afforded us in his own 
person a specimen of the manner in which 
justice is here administered. A dispute 
arose between him and a half-drunken Moor 
who waited on us, and who at length struck 
-the Jew a violent blow in the face. As he 
durst not return the blow, he flew to make 
his complaint to the Governor, who sent 
down a soldier to bring all the parties before 
him. The cause was heard with great gra- 
vity, and the result was, that the Moor was 
reprimanded for striking the Jew without 
a sufficient cause ; and the Jew was con- 
demned to pay a small sum of money as the 
expenses of the suit 

The ploughs, like the mode of cultivation 
about Tetuan, are exactly similar to those 
used in the greater part of Spain, being of a 
simple construction, and more calculated to 
scratch than to plough the earth. The same 
man guides the plough and directs the two 
oxen by which it is invariably drawn, hold- 
ing in his hand a long stick, at one end of 
which is a goad, and at the other a spatula or 
small spade for clearing the share. This I 



254 



TETUAN 



understood to be the universal mode. Who- 
ever then has seen the ploughs of Spain has 
seen those of Barbary. But here we notice 
an animal not at all used in Christian Europe, 
where it is regarded only as a curiosity : that 
is, the camel. All day long the market-place 
was filled with those creatures, and we wit- 
nessed from our parapet the regular order in 
which they are kept. They are slow and 
awkward in the irmotions, but obedient to the 
voice of their driver. Their sole equipment 
is a saddle, so constructed as when placed on 
their backs to fill up the inequality occasioned 
by their hump. They have neither bridle 
nor reins of any kind, but stop, turn to the 
right or left, kneel down to be loaded, and rise 
up again, at the voice of their master. In- 
stead of a whip, the driver carries a short thick 
stick, with which he strikes the camels on 
the knees when they refuse to kneel. Their 
general load is about two hundred English 
pounds, and this they carry with great ease. 
Their general price in the market of Tetuan 
is from twenty-five to thirty or forty Spanish 
dollars. It is singular that this curious ani- 
mal should thus be brought as it were 
to the very door of Europe, and proceed no 
farther. A narrow strait separates it from 
the most enlightened portion of the globe. 



TETUAN 



255 



and the camel still continues to be characte- 
ristic of Asia and Africa. 

Like the Spaniards, the Moors have their 
saints, whose memory they greatly respect. 
As their religion forbids statues and pictures, 
the tombs of these saints become the objects 
of their veneration, and the pious go there at 
stated times to pray and hold festivals in ho- 
nour of the dead. Near the town was a 
tomb, which some of our soldiers were rather 
reluctant in permitting us to approach, and 
which our Jew was also obliged to pass on 
foot. It covered the remains of a holy man, 
and miracles are still often effected there. 
On one occasion we witnessed a curious 
dance near the tomb, in honour of the 
saint. Seven or eight blacks from the inte- 
rior tribes of Africa danced in a ring, whilst 
one stood in the centre making hideous gri- 
maces and turning round incessantly by leaps. 
Each held in his hands a pair of large hollow 
copper cymbals, ornamented with fringes ancl 
tassels of horse hair, while two who did not 
mingle in the dance beat upon drums. This 
was the whole of the music, and the motions 
were well suited to its monotonous and dis- 
cordant sounds: they might be said to 
jump rather than to dance. Sometimes they 



556 



TETUA2T. 



crouched down close to the ground, when there 
was a sudden pause, and then they sprang up 
all together with loud cries and a violent 
clanging of their cymbals. Their sole dress 
was a shirt, a pair of cotton drawers girt up 
with a sash, and a red cap on their heads, 
which denoted them to be Mahometans, and 
freemen. One of them ran and stood before 
our horses* heads, still continuing his uncouth 
leaps and gestures ; and we found it prudent 
to do honour to the saint by the present of a 
small piece of money. 

After many delays, at the end of nearly 
three weeks we received our final answer 
from the Governor, Slovvey, who was collect- 
ing troops to send to the Emperor. We 
were informed that a civil war existed in the 
country ; that the Emperor was preparing to 
march in person against the insurgents ; and 
on that account it would not be safe for us to 
go to Fez. Permission was however graft ted 
us to visit the towns along the coast, such as 
Tangiers, Larash or Sallee ; and we were told 
that at the latter place the Emperor would 
probably pass through with all his army. 
Having however been so often deceived, we 
determined to lose no more time in Barbary, 
but to proceed to Tangiers, and thence cross 



over to Spain. We settled with our Genoese 
landlady, who made a violent attempt to 
impose upon us, but in vain. Having still 
some respect for us, but none for our compa- 
nion, she loaded the poof Jew at parting with 
maledictions. Three mules carried our tent 
and all our bagg&ge. Our guard gave the 
word to proceed, and being tolerably well 
mounted, and impatient of all farther delay, 
we left Tetuan amidst a heavy shower of rain. 



258 



KOUTE TO TANGIEK3, 



CHAP. XII. 

Route to Tangiers. — Moorish Pillage. — Pitch 
our tent. — Apes Hill. — Tangiers. — Ruins 
of the English Mole. — Tarifa. — Gibraltar, 

TANGIERS lies to the west of Tetuan. A 
long and lofty ridge, terminating abruptly to- 
wards the straits in Apes Hill, separates 
the two towns and all the various relations 
dependant upon each. The intercourse be- 
tween them by sea is very small. 

The rain continued to fall at intervals dur- 
ing the greater part of the morning. This 
rendered our road in some spots nearly im- 
passable, but did not prevent our having oc- 
casional views of the country in all directions. 
The mountains on our left were peculiarly 
interesting, and being green with the effects 
of the rains, presented a mixture of the grand 
and the beautiful, which is lost as the sum- 
mer advances and scorches the surface of 
the ground. The more distant ridges over- 



SOUTE TO TANGIERS. 



259 



topping the whole were covered with snow. 
After leaving the plain of Tetuan, we ascend 
to another equally fertile, but smaller, more 
closely hemmed in by hills, and exciting the 
idea of a lake having formerly existed here, 
but which at length had burst its way into 
the inferior plain. The country was beau- 
tiful on all sides, and here and there stood se- 
veral small villages > or rather clusters of huts> 
high up in the mountains, with accompanying 
traces of cultivation. About mid-day we 
reached the summit of the heights, which are 
here connected with the back part of Apes 
Hill. This mountain, the Abyla of the an- 
cients, presents on this side a gradual ascent* 
terminating in a long table land, whilst to- 
wards the sea it rises almost perpendicularly 
to a height still greater than that of Gibral- 
tar, intersected by chasms and precipices. 
The ground on this height was covered with 
trees, and we saw several parties of shepherds, 
whose looks and appearance were at least as 
favourable as those of the same class of men 
in Spain. On our descent we arrived at a 
fountain, where we stopped under the shelter 
of some spreading oaks ; by degrees our 
whole party and our baggage came up, and 
we stopped to dine. The shepherds from 



2(30 



ROUTE TO TANGIERS 



the woods assembled in considerable numbers 
round us, and noticed our dress and our re- 
past with the utmost curiosity. They were 
all eager to drink of our spirits mixed with 
water, but whether through affectation, or 
a natural and undebauched taste, they express- 
ed great dislike of the mixture. After an 
hour s rest the weather cleared up, and we 
again mounted our horses* 

Thegroundon the western sideof theheights, 
or towards Tangiers, we found far less interest- 
ing than that near Tetuan. No sooner did we 
begin to descend than the difference became 
perceptible. Thecountry was stretchedoutinto 
plains or slopes of comparatively small ferti- 
lity, and the hills were rounded and bare, not 
broken into clefts with sharp peaks. We 
were informed that we should that night 
pitch our tent near a small village, and we 
felt not a little curious to see one in this 
country. Towards sun-set we arrived on the 
slope of a hill, at ten or twelve low tents, 
formed of a coarse dark stuff of woollen and 
horse, or camel hair stretched upon sticks, 
and in some instances stopped round at the 
sides with bushes and clods of earth. We 
were not a little surprised to hear this called 
a village ; but as one of our party, who had 



ROUTE TO TANGIERS. 



been before unwell, was totally unable to pro* 
ceed farther, we had no alternative but to 
pitch our tents and prepare for passing the 
night as comfortably as we could. Our 
guide enquired for the head man of the place, 
when a stout and well-made Moor presented 
himself, and graciously gave us permission to 
encamp near them. In a short time our tent * 
was pitched, and a sufficient quantity of dry 
sticks collected to make a fire at the door of 
it. Our kettle was soon prepared, and the 
Moors, for a trifling sum, supplied us with 
abundance of milk, butter, and eggs, which,, 
with our bread and other provision, enabled us 
to make a cheerful repast. Mats were spread 
upon the ground, our saddles formed our 
pillows, and our cloaks were our covering* 
Our horses were picketed near us. As the 
night advanced, the Moors assembled and 
squatted round the fire, which they were 
careful to keep up, at the entrance of our 
tent. They were in general very stout men, 
of a serious but not a melancholy cast of 
countenance, their complexion a dark olive, 
and their sole dress a wrapper of light woollen 
folded round them. If we attempted to stir 
out of the tent they strictly watched us, lest 
we should stray near any of their huts ; whilst 



202 



BOUTE TO TANGIEBS, 



we in return from beneath our cloaks watched 
the bright gleaming of .the expiring embers 
thrown on their dusky forms. Before mid- 
night they dispersed, our guard stretched 
himself across the entrance of the tent, and 
we slept in safety. 

In the morning, while the baggage was 
getting placed on the mules, we had time to 
examine the encampment. We ventured to 
look into the huts, but were prohibited from 
entering. The entrances were all fronting to 
the^east, and it was evident by a glance at the 
interior, that the first advantages of the divi- 
sion of labour were not yet understood in this 
simple state of society. In every hut or tent 
the occupations were the same, the women or 
female children solely were employed ; one 
spinning a coarse kind of thread, another 
grinding corn between two flat stones, whilst 
the children made the butter by swinging back-^ 
wards and forwards a skinful of milk which 
hiuig from the top of the tent. The manners 
of these wandering Moors are simple and 
rude like their wants. They seldom eat 
meat, or even fowls or eggs ; these they 
carry to the towns for sale. Their principal 
and favourite dish (called Kouscousou) is made 
jpf millet and butter-milk, into which if a fowl 



KOUTE TO TANGIERS 



263 



and eggs boiled hard are introduced, it is 
reckoned the greatest of all delicacies. There 
are evidently two distinct races of men 
among these mountaineers, immediately dis- 
tinguishable by the difference of their fea- 
tures ; and I regretted nt)t to be able to trace 
these distinctions farther, or to discover 
whence they probably arose. One has the 
face long, perfectly oval, the nose regular 
and slightly aquiline, the lips delicate, and 
the complexion a light olive. The men of 
the other race are of a far stouter make, a 
broader forehead, a nose shorter and more 
square, with thicker lips, and a darker com- 
plexion. 

Before our departure, the Chief of the 
place made a secret request to our interpreter 
for a glass of brandy. Unlike the simple 
shepherds of the preceding day, he swallowed 
it with infinite delight in the sight of Heaven 
and his Prophet. In return he brought be- 
fore us a celebrated snake-catcher, who had 
just come down from the mountains. He 
carried with him a long narrow basket, con- 
taining several tolerably large serpents, which 
he handled with great indifference. They 
appeared, however, evidently stupified, either 
by art, or by long confinement and frequent 



264 



ROUTE TQ TANGIEKS. 



handling ; and one of our party was -going to 
touch them, when the man hastily returned 
them into the basket, pretending great alarm 
on his account. He affirmed that not even 
a true believer could touch them without 
being stung. Had the Christian therefore 
been suffered to expose the fallacy of this as- 
sertion, the injury to his character might have 
been still greater. The gaping Moors, how- 
ever, applauded both his superior skill and 
his humanity, and the delusion was still far- 
ther strengthened. 

At length we proceeded, In our route we 
passed several small villages, or encamp- 
ments, similar to that where we had spent 
the night. Here as in Spain, the stork is 
protected, and is in some degree social with 
man. These birds seemed to know that we 
were strangers, but they scarcely moved at 
the approach of a Moor, They build 
their nests on the tops of huts, Qr in trees 
near human dwellings, and are regarded with 
a kind of superstitious affection. One of our 
party made a motion as if to shoot one which 
stood near the road, but our guard prohi- 
bited it.— " Not even Christians," said he, 
" molest that bird." 

As we approached Tangiers, the country 

6 



TANGIERS 



265 



became still more sterile and bare, and near 
the town our eyes were dazzled by those 
white sands which mark its position to ves- 
sels at a great distance passing the straits. It 
broke upon our sight d\ at once at the dis- 
tance of about two miles, standing upon a 
rocky height near the sea, and surrounded by 
walls and towers, for the most part in a state 
of decay. A small aqueduct, or rather a 
conduit, supplies the town with water. As 
we entered the gates, our Jew endeavoured to 
pass mounted, but he was instantly recog- 
nised, the cry arose of a Jew ! a Jew ! and 
he alighted in no small hurry, to avoid being 
helped off his mule in a still more unpleasant 
manner. We had expected, and indeed we 
had been told, that the inhabitants of Tan- 
giers, from the vicinity of Gibraltar and their 
great intercourse with the English, would 
prove more courteous than those of Tetuan, 
but of this w r e saw very few proofs. It is 
true a considerable number, from intercourse 
with the English, have in some degree be- 
come humanized, but without any visible 
influence on the rest of the community. 
They who are bigots, and delight in shewing 
their hatred to Christians, are just as violent 
in Tangiers as in Tetuan, 



266 



TANGIERS." 



At the caprice of a ferocious and despotic 
Barbarian, the Representatives of European 
Monarchs and ancient Republics were obliged 
to remove from the garden of Barbary to 
Tangiers. The houses of the various Con* 
suls with their flags are here the principal 
objects of attraction. Except in its walls, the 
town presents little else at all worthy of no- 
tice. The glance which we obtained of the 
interior of the mosques shews them to be 
plain and neat, intersected with rows of low 
pillars and massy arches ; but, as in Tetuan, 
entirely divested of the splendour, the dome, 
and the elegant minarets, of the mosques of 
Constantinople, or even of Smyrna. We 
passed through the narrow and uneven streets, 
to a kind of posada, kept by a Jewess, where 
we were in a short time politely visited by 
Mr. Green, the British Consul, who shewed 
us every attention, and with whom we spent 
the remainder of the day. I noticed that in 
the street the British and French Consuls 
passed without taking the smallest notice of 
each other. Mr. Green joined with me in 
reprobating this custom ; but it was one, he 
said, to which he was obliged to conform. In 
time of peace the Consuls live on social 
terms, but no sooner does a war break out 



TANG1ER9. 26j 

than the Consuls of those nations are at war 
also. They may have dined together yester- 
day, and to-day if they meet in the streets 
they must not perform the commonest action 
of civility. This is unworthy of enlightened 
and polite nations. It is worthy of Tangiers. 

Whoever has travelled in Spain should 
endeavour to make a visit, however transient 
to the Barbary coast. One may go from Gi- 
braltar to Tetuan and Tangiers, and return 
to Spain, in four or five days. Even this hasty 
glance will suffice to shew the many points 
of similarity in the customs of the Spaniards 
and the Moors, although now so widely 
separated by religion, and by mutual preju- 
dices. We may observe in both the same 
warmth in devotion ; the same hatred against 
heretics and infidels. Their houses are form- 
ed upon the same model ; the Spanish 
cookery is decidedly Moorish. The pea- 
santry of both carry muskets and dirks, and 
in travelling go always armed ; wear a red 
sash round the middle^ one end of which 
serves as a purse ; and use the same kind of 
saddle, stirrups, and, bridle. The agriculture 
on both sides is the same : the form of the 
plough, and the mode of ploughing : their 
cars with heavy wheels of one solid piece of 



208 



TANGJEHS. 



wood ; and their chopped straw, brought to 
market in nets, upon the backs of mules and 
asses, when we behold them in Barbary, al- 
most make us think ourselves in Spain. It 
is also pleasing to notice here the points of 
contrast : no convents, no images, no wax 
tapers, no kneeling down in the mud : on 
the contrary, simple rites, and temples un- 
adorned. The camel alone forms a point of 
discrimination. What would be the result 
of our observations upon races of men, so 
similar in many respects, and yet so hostile ; 
so conjoined in manners and customs, and 
yet so widely separated by religion, by govern- 
ment, and a vast interval of * intelligence ? 
Clearly this : that a free intercourse between 
nations is one of the greatest helps to their 
mutual advancement. In exact proportion as 
bigotry, national prejudices, or government, 
contribute to shut out from any country the 
light arising in another quarter, so will the 
progress of that country towards complete 
degradation be rapid and irremediable. And 
what farther ? That such beino; the case, the 
present free and hitherto unexampled inter- 
course between England and Spain, cannot 
but be productive cf the highest benefit to 
the latter ; and a great and enlightened nah 



TANGIERS* 260 

lion may yet gain the most glorious of vic- 
tories by bursting the chains of civil and re- 
ligious tyranny which have so long held in 
thraldom one great portion of the European 
family. 

A few days before our arrival at Tangiers, 
Count Tilly, a Spanish nobleman, had re- 
turned from the interior, whither he had 
been on an embassy from the Supreme Junta 
to the Moorish Emperor, The object of his 
mission was said to be the obtaining permis- 
sion to purchase horses in Barbary ; and even 
if possible to form an alliance with the Moors, 
and procure from them a certain number of 
cavalry. The Emperor had been graciously 
pleased to receive the presents which he 
brought, but the final answer to his applica- 
tion had not been given, and he was in- 
structed to wait for it at Tangiers. This 
embassy presents a curious and interesting 
subject of contemplation. Three hundred 
years ago, in violation of every principle of 
common policy and common justice, up- 
wards of a million of Moors were driven from 
Spain, and forced to take refuge on the oppo- 
site shores of the Mediterranean. The 
hatred which they carried with them still 
exists among their descendants,, and may prove 



270 



tANGIE&S. 



an insuperable bar to the views of the Junta 
in this matter. But for this single act of 
cruelty, forty thousand irregular cavalry 
might now have been procured for the Spa- 
nish cause, and transported into Europe with 
little difficulty. 

A Spanish felucca, or open bark, being 
about to sail, we agreed with the master to 
carry us to Tarifa for sixteen dollars. Upon 
the beach we remarked, that the fortifica- 
tions towards the sea were in a tolerable state 
of repair ; and that a battery of several pieces 
of heavy cannon commanded the landing- 
place. The whole, however, under the pre- 
sent possessors, could not resist the attack of 
a single British frigate for two hours. Here 
also running out into the sea, are still the 
ruins of a fine mole, which was destroyed by 
the English when they abandoned this place 
by order of Charles the Second, who received 
Tangiers as a dowry from Portugal, with 
Catharine his wife. It is impossible to be- 
hold without regret, an important point 
which the English once possessed, thus mi- 
serably abandoned. How many are the ad- 
vantages which not only England, but the 
Moors themselves would receive, from our 
possessing an establishment on this coast ! 



TANGIERS. 



2?1 



A French emigrant of rank, driven from his 
country by the fury of the revolution, and 
kindly protected by England, paid a visit to 
Canada. He acknowledges the many virtues 
of the nation which had afforded him shelter; 
yet when he found himself among French- 
men in language, manners, and descent, but 
in peaceful obedience to a foreign -power ; 
when he saw the English flag waving on 
heights, on strong forts, or on peaceful and 
wide-spread lakes, where France had once 
borne sway, a sigh, in spite of himself, escaped 
his bosom. Yet even the Count de Lian- 
court must have allowed, that the French 
had been supplanted by a nation not very 
greatly inferior to his own in any respect, 
except that of numbers ; he might feel 
grieved^ but he could not feel much degraded. 
Far different are the sensations which forci- 
bly take possession of the Englishman when 
he beholds the remains of the mole of Tan- 
giers. There he sees English ruins upon a bar- 
barous coast, once belonging to the most 
enlightened nation of Europe, but now held 
by an ignorant and bigotted race of Africans, 
The ground formerly trod by the freest 
people on the face of the globe, is now con- 
taminated by a vile race of slaves. 



PASSAGE TO TAKIFA. 



We sailed with a fine breeze. About three 
miles to the eastward of the present town, at 
the bottom of the bay, are still to be seen the 
ruins of old Tangiers, consisting merely of a 
few ancient towers and walls. Farther out, on 
a promontory, stands the watch-tower of Ma- 
rabat. There is a line of these towers on 
most of the different capes along the coast, 
as on the Spanish shore, but they are gene- 
rally falling to ruins. The breadth of the 
strait from Cap^ Marabat to Tarifa being 
only from about twelve to fifteen miles, we 
crossed in three hours. Our poor Jew had 
great difficulty in being allowed to leave 
Barbary, but he was not even permitted to 
land in Spain. We were astonished at his 
preferring to sleep in the boat all night, 
whilst we went on shore. He assigned many 
awkward reasons, but our boatmen gave us 
the true one, namely, that no Jew was al- 
lowed to enter Spain. The hatred of the 
Spaniards against this miserable race is still 
stronger than that of the Moors, who minglei 
with theirs a greater portion of contempt. 

Tarifa is a small town close upon the sea, 
and surrounded by a wall and square towers, 
in good order 2 they are evidently Moorish, 
and like many others built before the intro- 



TARIFA. 



273 



duction of artillery, are commanded by neigh- 
bouring heights. The country around is 
composed of small hills, and parallel ridges, 
running down towards the sea, and evidently 
formed by winter torrents. The low rocky 
island of Tari fa, upon which stands a light- 
house, is now joined to the main land by a 
causeway, made by convicts, whom we saw 
busily employed upon it. Two years ago, 
ships of one hundred and fifty tons could 
pass through the channel which has been 
thus filled up, and the rock and stones with 
which it has been effected being entirely cal- 
careous and full of various shells, clearly 
shew that it is only restoring to the sea 
what in former ages has been created beneath 
its waves. The population of Tarifa is reckon- 
ed at five thousand souls. The manners of 
the people appear to be strongly indicative of 
the ancient Spanish character, by gravity and 
reserve. The women are handsome and well 
made, and walk with all the smartness so 
characteristic of the Spanish females. 

The houses are mostly built of stone ; and 
the church is a curious specimen of patch* 
work in various styles. A small stream tra- 
verses the town through one of the principal 
streets, and being crossed by a number of 
stone bridges of one arch, the effect would 

s 



274 



TARIFA 



not be amiss if the bed of the stream was 
kept clear from filth \ this however is so 
offensive both to the sight and smell, and is 
farther the receptacle of such a vast number 
of rats, that we hastened away as soon as pos- 
sible. In recompence, we gained the out- 
skirts of the walls, and thence had a fine view 
of the Strait, and of Cape Spartel, which 
marks the entrance of the African shore. 

The military duty of guarding the gates 
was performed here by volunteers ; they ap- 
peared tolerably well accoutred, but awkward 
in the management of their arms : they had 
however a pompous title, and called them- 
selves "Los Voluntarios honorificados deTa- 
rifa," — The honourable Volunteers of Tarifa. 

We passed the night at a tolerable posada, 
and on the ensuing morning, soon after sun- 
rise, embarked again in our felucca, having 
agreed with the master to carry us to Gibral- 
tar. The morning was calm, and we rowed 
for an hour along the shore, enjoying the 
various views afforded by parallel ridges, 
rising from the edges of the water to nearly 
the summits of the mountains, and adorned 
in every spot by clumps of trees. At length 
a breeze sprang up, and we hoisted our great 
lateen sails. The Rock of Gibraltar was full 
in view, and the bay opened rapidly upon us : 



GIBRALTAR. 



275 



by degrees we saw the whole extent of its 
shores, and the wind continuing to freshen, 
to the infinite satisfatiori of our Jew, we 
were by ten o'clock safely ashore under the 
English flag. 



CHAR XIII. 
Gibraltar. — Cadiz. — Conclusion. 

GIBRALTAR, at all times an object of 
natural curiosity, was now rendered almost 
equally interesting through political occur- 
rences. It was thronged with Spaniards^ 
who came to visit their new allies ; and with 
Frenchmen, who, with infinite difficulty, 
had escaped from various parts of Spain, and 
sought protection under the British flag* A 
new sight was that of rows of long brass 
cannons and mortars, and piles of bullets, 
which had been brought from the Spanish 
lines. Whether these trophies were volunta- 
rily given up by the Spaniards, or exacted by 
the English as tokens of mutual confidence 
and esteem, it might perhaps be hard to de* 
termine. They naturally give rise, however, 
to many reflections. Whilst with such laud- 

32 



2/6 GIBRALTAR. 

able and minute care this artillery had been 
brought away from a point where it could be 
of little service to an army, whole shiploads 
of cannon and bullets have been sent from 
England to Spain. There appeared to me 
something very like an insult in piling them 
up just within the gates of the principal en- 
trance, and where they must be passed by 
every Spaniard who enters the fortress by land. 

The Garrison Library affords by far the 
greatest source of amusement to the stranger 
at Gibraltar. Every other object becomes 
familiar to him, but this is a perpetual feast. 
The building is of stone, neat, and command- 
ing a fine prospect of the Bay, the opposite 
coast of Spain, the Straits, and the Barbary 
shore. An introduction is hardly necessary 
to procure admittance, and the valuable col- 
lection of books does great credit to the taste 
and judgment of the selectors. 

Some Moorish fortifications still remain 
towards the northern extremity of the rock,- 
and which in ancient times have resisted 
many furious assaults. The principal part is 
a large square tower commanding all the rest. 
As there were said to be heads of arrows still 
sticking in the wails, we determined to exa- 
mine them, and went in some measure pre- 
pared for that purpose. After some trouble 



GIBRALTAR. 



277 



we discovered and succeeded in extracting 
several small pieces of iron, which had every 
appearance of being parts of the heads of 
arrows, which in former times had been shot 
against the tower. If on this head, however, 
any doubts existed among us, there could be 
none as to the impressions made by cannon, 
bullets, and bombs, which had been fired 
against it during the memorable siege of 
Gibraltar. The tower on that occasion seems 
to have stopped a considerable number of the 
enemy's shot, and the impressions remaining 
are faint but honourable testimonies of a gal- 
lant defence. 

After being detained for nearly three 
weeks at Gibraltar, I bade adieu to my com- 
panions, and sailed with a convoy for Eng- 
land. We touched at Cadiz, where I re- 
mained five , days on shore, and terminated 
my. observations. I shall here notice a few 
particulars relating to Cadiz, and then others 
common to it with the towns through which 
we passed on this route. 

Is Cadiz then always to present me with 
striking instances of the strange instability of 
human affairs ? When formerly here, the 
British squadron cruized triumphantly with- 
out the harbour, but respected the batteries 
under which the broken remnants of the 



278 



CADIZ. 



French and Spanish fleets found shelter. 
The Bay was strewed with wrecks of vessels, 
the wharfs was covered with the wounded 
and dying, and the waves still continued to 
cast up on the beach the bodies of the dead. 
Four years have not elapsed, and English 
vessels of war and English convoys are riding 
peaceably in the Bay ; nothing is seen on the 
quays but the bustle of reviving commerce ; 
compliments to the English nation are nightly 
made at the Theatre, and loudly applauded ; 
whilst at the bottom of the harbour lie five 
or six French ships of the line,, nearly on the 
spot where they were taken, with only their 
lower masts in, and almost wholly dismantled. 

On entering the gate from the water side 
I observed that the military duty was per- 
formed by volunteers, and that the arms were 
English, but kept in very bad order. There 
are two gates, over which is carved a Latin 
inscription, curiously applied, from the hun- 
dred and twenty-first Psalm, with a slight 
variation. Over the first gate is, u Dominus 
custodiat introitum tuum," and over the 
other, " Et exitum tuum — The Lord shall 
preserve thy going out, and thy coming in. 
That there may accordingly be no mistake, all 
persons must enter by the first gate and 
come out by the other. 



CADIZ 



279 



Cadiz is almost the only town in Spain, 
not under the power of the French, where 
the Theatre is still kept open, and bull-fights 
are occasionally exhibited. I was not fortu- 
nate enough to see any of the latter during 
my short stay, but the stage had lost none of 
its attractions. Indeed, from the general 
ceasing of plays, the company of Cadiz had 
been strengthened by the accession of some 
good performers from every part of Spain* 
Every allusion in the drama to passing events 
was eagerly seized by the audience, and the 
house resounded with patriotic songs, in 
which " Inglaterra " and the great " Jorge " 
generally cut a very conspicuous figure. 

If I was deprived of a view of the bull- 
fights, I saw at least a faint specimen of the 
ancient tournaments, to be seen perhaps in 
but few other parts of Europe. A stand, 
ornamented with the royal arms of Spain, 
was erected in the centre of the great market* 
place, on which were placed bated swords 
and daggers of various lengths. A tall old 
man, with a long rapier, acted as umpire of 
the lists. The people collected, and a large 
ring was made. A champion approached, 
examined the weapons, and having found one 
to suit his purpose, he grasped it, and threw 
down his glove upon the ground. After 



walking to and fro for some time, an anta- 
gonist presented himself, who took up the 
glove, and then threw it down with contempt. 
He was suited with a sword ; the two heroes 
approached, touched their hats to each other, 
saluted the master of the lists, and tried the 
length of their weapons. All being arranged, 
the old man gaVe the signal, by a motion of 
his rapier, and the battle began. It was 
contested with great skill on both sides. 
After a certain number of hits, the umpire 
declared who was the conqueror. The two 
parties went round the ring, with their hats 
off, collecting donations in the hilts of their 
swords; and if they had shewn much skill, 
had seldom reason to complain. Sometimes 
the parties were armed each with a sword in 
the right hand, and a dagger in the left. The 
contest then became more intricate, more 
interesting, and in the same proportion more 
animated. If at any time the combatants 
appeared to become irritated or furious, the 
umpire dropped the point of his sword, and 
separated them until they grew cool. In the 
very heat of the affray, while swords and 
daggers were clashing, while the eyes of the 
combatants were furious, and :he spectators 
watched their gestures in profound silence, 
the sun-set bells began to toll. In an instant 



CADIZ. 



281 



the swords and daggers were deposited at the 
stand, all hats were off, and the crowd dis- 
persed, muttering the evening prayer to the 
Virgin. 

In Cadiz, as in all the great towns of 
Spain, sufficient proofs are to be seen that 
what is here called the pure, the Catholic 
religion, is in fact Christianity corrupted by 
superstitions, many of which existed long 
before the birth of our Saviour. To say no- 
thing of the processions, the incense, and the 
pomp of the altars ; who can behold the vo- 
tive reliques hung up in every church of 
Spain without immediately recognising the 
customs of the ancient Greeks and Romans ? 
Sometimes a small leg or an arm of wax is 
hung up by one who may have recovered from 
a complaint in either of these limbs, and 
which recovery he piously attributes to the 
Virgin, or his favourite Saint, and takes 
this cheap method of commemorating it. 
Sometimes it is a doll of wax, such as would 
be sold in England for sixpence, and which is 
placed there in gratitude for a child restored; 
and sometimes a picture, in which the sick 
person is represented in bed, and a vision 
appearing promising recovery. These pic- 
tures and little images are either vowed during 
the time of illness, when the hanging them 



282 CATHOLICISM* 

up becomes an indispensable duty, or they ate 
the mere offerings of a mistaken but pious 
gratitude. At all events this is evidently not 
the remains but the continuation of the cus- 
tom to which Horace alludes, when he talks 
of hanging garments or pictures in the 
temple of Neptune, like one escaped from 
shipwreck : 

— — Me tabula sacer 
Votiva paries indicat uvida 
Suspendisse potenti 
Vestimenta maris Deo. 

Carra. lib. i, 5. 

Another mode in which Christianity has 
been corrupted must be as ancient as its first 
establishment in Spain. The Virgin Mary r 
under various denominations, has usurped 
the places of ancient Deities. Sometimes it is 
the Virgin Pastora, or the Shepherdess ; but 
the most general and most obvious adaptation 
is where the Mother of God is represented 
with the moon under her feet. In Sevilla, in 
Cordoba, in Granada, Malaga, and Cadiz, are 
numerous churches, where we behold Diana, 
with her principal attributes, worshipped 
under the name of the Mother of God. 
With these representations before our eyes, 
it is impossible for us to doubt that in 
heathen times the moon was the great object 
fo adoration in all the tract of country through 



CATHOLICISM. 



283 



which we have lately passed; and that the first 
introducers of Christianity skilfully seized the 
most admirable mode of overcoming, or ra- 
ther of deceiving, popular prejudices. The 
image of a beautiful woman standing on a 
silver crescent, surrounded with lamps and 
blazing with jewels, is still Astarte, the 
Queen of Heaven. The name may be 
changed, but under what other form could 
the heathens have represented the object of 
their worship ? But it has been thus in all 
ages. The gods of Egypt were transferred 
under various names to Greece and Rome, 
and Osiris, from the banks of the Nile, 
under the name of Jupiter, was seated on the 
Tarpeian rock, and worshipped by the Con- 
querors of the World. 

It would be easy to trace this adaptation of 
Christianity to pre-existing superstitions, 
through a thousand instances. The Virgin 
was always ready to take the shape of any 
Goddess, and thus piously cheat the multi- 
tude into salvation. And was the idol a male 
deity of war or of peace, it w T as christened 
Saint Jago or Saint Michael, armed with the 
sword of God ; Saint Anthony or Saint An- 
drew, opening the book of the law. We have 
thus something like a rational excuse, a pro- 
bable origin for so many and such various 



284 CATHOLICISM. 

Saints and Virgins : but in all the Catholic 
churches there are absurdities so gross, so 
impious, so indelicate, that we are equally 
puzzled to account for their adoption or their 
object. I have some hesitation in mention- 
ing one, but that one will be sufficient. A 
very singular event is recorded to have hap- 
pened to Saint Domingo, to Saint Francisco, 
and perhaps to others. When exhausted by 
solitary prayer and penitential stripes, they 
sunk before the altar; the Virgin once ap- 
peared to each of them, and squeezing a few 
drops of milk from her breast into their 
mouths, restored them to life and transport- 
ing devotion. The fact cannot be doubted, 
for I have seen at least ten different pictures, 
and some of considerable merit, representing 
the Mother of God in a position that no mo- 
dest earthly woman would assume before a 
lonely monk. " The Saint was comforted 
with milk from her Virgin breasts- — pectorales 
Virgines" say the legends and the inscrip- 
tions. Can monstrous absurdity be carried 
farther? — Listen. On the walls of a church, 
near the gate of Carmona, at Sevilla, is a pic- 
ture representing Christ on the cross on one 
side, and the Virgin in the clouds on the 
other ; between them is a Bishop, or Saint, 
kneeling, with his mouth, open ; into cue 



GOVERNMENT 



285 



corner of which descends a stream of blood 
from the wounded side of Christ, and into the 
other a stream of milk from the bosom of the 
Virgin. This would be ludicrous were it not 
disgusting ; we might smile, did we not feel 
excessive pity to see such deplorable weak- 
ness in human nature ! 

But enough of Catholicism. Let us cast a 
short glance at the government. It has been 
said, that the delusion of the name of Ferdi- 
nand the Seventh cannot long be kept up ; that 
the nation will grow tired of seeing only the 
picture of a king ; that even a foreigner, in- 
vested with an usurped title, but with real 
power, will gradually supersede the empty 
shadow of royalty. Those who reason thus 
appear to me not well versed in human na- 
ture; or to have regarded the usurpation of 
the Spanish throne in only one point of view, 
We always form a more exalted opinion of 
objects which we seldom see, than even of 
greater ones w ith which we are familiar. The 
very story of a young king enticed from 
amidst his subjects by an artful and profligate 
usurper, deceived by the most solemn oaths, 
and destined perhaps never again to return to 
his native land, has in it something which at 
once excites reflection, and interests the feel- 
ings. King Ferdinand on the throne, sur- 



286 GOVERNMENT. 

rounded by all his guards, might have dis- 
played weaknesses or vices that would gra- 
dually have alienated the affections of his 
subjects. But King Ferdinand, deceived, 
betrayed, abandoned, and a captive, can 
never cease to be dear to the Spanish nation. 
It is easy from this to foresee his fate. He 
must die. But in the mean time his name 
operates as a charm. The provincial Juntas 
are almost universally regarded with distrust 
or contempt. Their energy is called tyranny; 
their partialities and forbearance are denomi- 
nated weakness. But they act for Ferdinand 
the Seventh, and all is forgotten. " Oh that 
our King were restored to us!" say the people ; 
%c we should not then have so many rulers." 

Hence the voice of the whole nation is for 
a king. To say, " give the Spaniards a 
constitution, give them liberty, give them 
something to fight for/' is to speak idly. 
Their king has been taken from them, their 
country invaded by a nation they detested, 
Saragossa destroyed because it was brave and 
loyal, and the metropolis held in bondage. 
Is not each of these worth fighting for ? And 
if not, is an untried theory, of government 
worthy of such great sacrifices of life and 
fortune ? 

Monarchy is the form of government 



GOVERNMENT. 



best suited to Spain. Its extent, the nature 
of its population, and its ancient prejudices 
and habits, sufficiently demonstrate this. 
Could it be forced into the form of a re- 
public, and left undisturbed by foreign in- 
terference, before ten years it would resolve 
itself into the government of one man* 
Spain must always be a monarchy, or if 
extended too far, a despotism, but can never 
be long a republic. Theories and dreams 
cannot affect those immutable rules which in 
all ages have determined the forms of go- 
vernment ; and on these extent of country 
has the most material influence. Instead, 
therefore, of proposing idle systoms of li- 
berty to the Spanish nation, as objects for 
which to fight, and of which unfortunately 
it does not understand one word ; join and 
support those cries of grief and vengeance 
with which Spain already resounds. " Long 
live King Ferdinand the Seventh !" his 
name is a rallying point from sea to sea, 
from the Pyrenees to the borders of Portugal, 
and they who would abolish it in order to 
substitute untried svstems. would act most 
unwisely. If greater effects are not produced 
than those which we witness, the evil lies 
elsewhere. I repeat it, if the Spaniards will 
not fight for their own cause as it now 



288 GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 



stands, they will not under any other shape 
in which it could be placed. Let us then 
examine the causes why England in general 
has been so disappointed with regard to the 
exertions of the Spaniards. 

The firsts and by far the greatest cause of 
that disappointment, undoubtedly arose from 
the extravagant expectations formed on. the 
first ebullition of the public enthusiasm in 
Spain. Because much was done, it was 
thought that every thing could be effected. 
In a short time the contest came to be de- 
cided between France and Spain. The great- 
est acknowledged general in Europe, with 
excellent officers, and disciplined and veteran 
armies, amounting to nearly two hundred 
thousand men, were opposed to generals 
who had no reputation, and who deserved to 
have none ; to raw levies, and mere masses 
of peasantry ; and when the latter were 
beaten we were astonished. We should not 
have been at all surprised if it had happened 
otherwise : we should only have exulted. It 
would have been a miracle ; and yet we were 
inclined to regard such an event as in the com- 
mon course of things. There were, and there 
are, reasons, and very strong ones too, for 
regarding the ultimate conquest, or the long 
possession of Spain by France, as altogether 

1 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS* 289 

impossible; but there never could be any 
doubt for a moment, that the first shock of 
the French armies must be irresistible. 

But if the English nation, at the com- 
mencement, was extravagant in its expecta*- 
tions and praises of the Spaniards, it has 
since run equally into the other extreme of 
despising them. That Buonaparte, with a 
hundred and fifty thousand men, should de- 
stroy the Prussian monarchy in a month, we 
may say in a day, now appears very little sur- 
prising to us ; and yet the Prussian army was 
before reckoned the model of Europe, Be- 
cause Austria, with upwards of three hun- 
dred thousand organized troops has been 
beaten into humiliating terms, no sober man 
thinks himself justified in calling the Austri- 
an s cowards and traitors. But if the raw 
levies of the Spaniards, badly disciplined and 
miserably officered, are obliged to fly, we 
cannot find epithets bad enough to apply to 
them ! It is good that we should refresh our 
memories from our own history. Little more 
than half a century ago, a few bands of north- 
ern Highlanders, many of whom were with- 
out muskets, descended from their moun- 
tains, defeated a considerable body of regular 
troops, took Carlisle, and advanced into the 
heart of England. This daring irruption 

T 



2<)8 GENERAL REFLECTIONS, 

of mountaineers shook the whole state, not- 
did there appear force sufficient in the coun- 
try to repress it. Ten or twelve thousand 
veteran troops were obliged to be withdrawn 
from the continent for that purpose. They 
would however have strangely misjudged, 
who should have called the English a despi- 
cable nation on this account. Yet compare the 
two cases: on the one side, a set of half clad, 
half-armed mountaineers, attacking a rich 
and powerful state: on the other, two hundred 
thousand excellent troops attacking half-clad, 
and half-armed peasants : — the comparison 
would not be in favour of England. 

To assist Spain, to uphold Europe, we sent 
twenty-six thousand men to Gallicia. Nearly 
twenty thousand troops were put in motion 
to subdue Martinique. Sicily and Malta are 
occupied by twenty-live thousand more. The 
conclusion is obvious : to take Martinique, 
to hold Sicily and Malta, and to deliver Eu- 
rope, are objects of equal importance ! I say 
nothing of the manner in which these twenty- 
six thousand men were conducted : peace be 
to the ashes of those who bravely fell. I say 
nothing of the Expedition to Walcheren ; it 
is merely a continuation of the same miser- 
able system. Sir Arthur Wellesley appoint- 
83 to support Spain with twenty thousand 

5 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 2Q1 

men, while fifty thousand are sent to subdue 
Walcheren, and look into the mouth of the 
Scheldt ! — This requires no comment. 

Let us at least form something like a 
system, or a plan, although perhaps now too 
late. England assists Spain either through 
generosity or policy : if the former, then to 
send ten thousand men is to perform a friendly 
act : but if the latter, it is clear that the same 
principles of sound policy, which direct that 
British troops should be sent to Spain, ought 
also to determine their number and their 
kind. 

I do not think those worthy of an answer, 
who insist that Spain should not in any de- 
gree be assisted by land : it remains to exa- 
mine the principles upon which that assist- 
ance should be framed and directed. 

Those branches of the military system, or 
what the French call those arms, which re- 
quire the most science and the most skill, are 
evidently those in which the Spaniards are, 
and might be expected to be, most deficient. 
Artillery is the first and principal ; cavalry is 
the second ; the movements of infantry are 
more simple, or at least sooner learned. I 
am not talking of the relative importance of 
those arms, but of the relative skill necessary 
to put them in motion. Infantry, although 

t 2 



2Q2 GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 

the great basis of all good armies, being merely 
bodies of armed men, has the simplest move- 
ments ; cavalry, as composed of men and 
horses, naturally requires longer practice ; 
and the movements of artillery, as composed 
of men, horses, cannon, and ammunition, 
comprehend all that is profound in the mili- 
tary art. 

If then we sent a force to Spain merely as 
an auxiliary, it is evident that it should have 
been composed principally of artillery and 
cavalry. The Spanish artillery is worth very 
little; and the cavalry is despicable: the 
former is worked by infantry, and is therefore 
merely on a par with the infantry ; but the 
latter, being only foot soldiers mounted on 
horses, must necessarily be still less formida- 
ble. A brave man armed and in the field 
may be a soldier ; but a brave man armed 
and on horseback, is not on this account a 
cavalier. Had the Spanish armies at Tudela, 
at Somosierra, at Medellin, been supported 
by British artillery and cavalry, they might 
have been defeated, but they would not have 
been so completely routed and dispersed. At 
Medellin the victory was already gained, 
when the Spanish cavalry shamefully fled and 
occasioned the loss of the battle. 

But are we to act in Spain merely as auxi- 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS* 

liarles, or should we become the principals ? 
No one has ever hinted at such a plan, and yet 
it appears to me the only reasonable one left 
to adopt. It was well to act merely asas auxi- 
liaries, while hopes were entertained that the 
Spaniards had science and skill sufficient to 
act as principals. But now that their great 
want of good officers, of system and discipline, 
is become notorious, it is evident that the 
plan must be changed ; the English must 
become the principals, and the Spaniards the 
auxiliaries, or Spain be abandoned altogether. 
Which affords the best chance of success ; 
an army of sixty or eighty thousand Britons, 
under enlightened and intelligent officers, 
with all Spain for an auxiliary ; or all Spain, 
without a proper system of organization, with 
twenty * or twenty-five thousand Britons as 
auxiliaries ? It is enough merely to ask the 
question ; the mind of every intelligent man 
has already answered it, 

But it is granted, it is undeniable, that 
eighty thousand British troops in Spain would 
do more for that country than it has ever yet 
effected by the whole of its native force ; 
ought we on that account to send them 
there ? That they would do a great deal more 
than has yet been done, is no reason why so 
momentous an experiment should be tried. 



2Q4 GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 

Let us examine this ; we are come now to an 
important question. 

All Europe to the north of the Rhine may 
be considered as either subjugated by France, 
or rendered subservient to her views. The 
great powers that once existed between her 
and Russia are broken down into small frag- 
ments, and require only political skill to keep 
them balanced against each other. France 
will not again need to carry her armies across 
the Rhine until the affairs of Spain be com- 
pletely settled ; or until something so unfa- 
vourable to her take place in that country, as 
to induce the breaking out of that hatred 
which must continue to ferment all over the 
north of Germany. Spain then will be in- 
vaded by the whole force of France, and 
without the utmost assistance from England, 
must in a great measure become the tempo- 
rary prey of the invaders. But experience 
has already shewn us, that the British force 
there has never been sufficient for the in- 
tended purpose. Two things then only re- 
main : to prepare ourselves for seeing the 
greater part of Spain subjected to France ; or 
to send to that country more effectual suc- 
cours than we have hitherto done. 

But it will be said, if Prussia be annihi- 
lated ; if Austria be humbled; if Russia be 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 2Q5 

intimidated by the power of France ; can we 
seriously attempt to oppose that power by 
land ? To me it appears that in Spain we 
might : the strong nature of the country ; 
the succession of passes and positions which 
it affords ; the number of towns along the 
Mediterranean coasts and the complete com- 
mand of the sea, would be all in favour of the 
English. I say nothing of the dispositions of 
the natives, although in spite of the reports 
from our armies, I must assert them to be most 
friendly to us. I shall here say something of 
these reports, and conclude by a plain state- 
ment of some measures which I think ought 
to have been, and might still be, adopted. 

Scarcely had our army under Sir John 
Moore arrived in Spain, when our newspapers 
began to teem with letters from officers. 
There was a letter from an officer to his 
father in London, or to his brother in 
Manchester, or to his cousin in Glasgow ; 
and the contents were always very doleful. 
There were complaints about long marches, 
coarse bread to eat, and nothing but straw to 
sleep on. I could not but sometimes blush 
for these sickly effusions, which could scarcely 
have been interesting to parents or friends. 
When however the officers of an army attempt 
to judge of the dispositions of the inhabitants 



ag6 GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 

of a country, it behoves us to listen with 
cautious ears. How are foreign officers, with 
foreign corps serving in our pay, received on 
a march in this country ? Nowhere with 
smiles or enthusiasm ; scarcely indeed with 
civility. Compare the accounts given by all 
the English civilians, without exception, in 
Spain, with those given by officers ; scarcely 
would you believe them to be written by per- 
sons of the same nation, so essentially do they 
differ. General Whitelock, and most of the 
officers under him, asserted that the disposi- 
tions of the inhabitants of South America 
were so hostile to England as to form an 
obstacle never to be overcome. ff. I am per- 
suaded," says he in his dispatches, <f this 
country never can become English." Yet at 
that very period, although Monte Video had 
been carried by assault, it is certain from the 
uniform testimony of the English merchants 
there, that no such hostile spirit existed. 
When a man presents himself to a foreign 
nation in the character of a soldier, he throws 
a kind of restraint upon all around him, or 
excites a spirit either of resistance or of jea- 
lousy, which veils the true disposition of men 
from his eyes. To judge of a nation pro- 
perly, to see it in its true colours, in its real 
pharacter, we must travel in the garb of 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 2Q7 

peace. I must not therefore be accused of 
vanity, if I desire my Reader to rely more upon 
my slight delineations of the Spanish charac- 
ter, than upon those of any officer, however 
distinguished by rank or abilities, but who 
travelled as such. When we move in a par- 
ticular character, we cannot forget that cha- 
racter ; nor can others. The officer views 
the country and the inhabitants as an officer, 
and is viewed as such by them. Wrapped up 
in his cloak, the traveller views them merely 
as a man. 

Thus much as to the disposition of the in- 
habitants : let us now again cast a glance 
over the country, through which we have 
lately passed, and which will certainly form 
the last retreat of Spanish liberty. 

At Badajoz \ve arrive upon the Guadiana, 
and the frontiers of Spain. The course of 
this river marks the deepest part of the valley, 
between two distant ridges of mountains: 
one of these ridges extends to the north of 
the Guadiana, from the frontiers of Portugal 
to the centre of New Castile, and separates 
the bed of that river from the Tagus. The 
high road to Madrid crosses it at the strong 
pass of Miravete, two leagues from the bridge 
of Almaraz, This strong line of defence is 
perhaps already held by the enemy, There 



2§8 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS, 



then remains the open country through which 
the Guadiana flows ) and the mountains to the 
south of that river : it is among these moun- 
tains that we have been travelling, and which, 
as we have seen, extend from Santa Marta 
till we come within sight of Sevilla. For 
several leagues to the south, after leaving 
Badajoz, we travel over an open country, and 
which at most rises only into small elevations, 
forming the extreme boundary on this side of 
the vast plains of Estreroadura. At Santa 
Marta we find ourselves among small rounded 
hills, which, as we approach Maimona, gra- 
dually assume bolder forms, and the country 
becomes on all sides strong, and easily defen- 
sible. Fourteen leagues from Badajoz we 
are in the heart of the Sierra Morena. From 
Santa Maimona, through Fuente de Cantos, 
Monasterio, Santa Olalla, Ronquillo, and 
Venta de Guillena to Santiponce, a line of 
upwards of twenty leagues, we are presented 
wtlh nothing but a succession of almost im- 
pregnable positions. On this line, the ground 
between Monasterio and Ronquillo is the 
strongest, comprehending a distance of eight 
leagues, almost a continued pass, and of the 
importance of which even the Spaniards ap- 
pear sensible, by their constructing batteries 
in various spots. From Venta de Guillena 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 

we descend upon the Guadalquivir, and the 
plains of Sevilla. 

In the same manner as long ridges of 
mountains separate the Guadiana from the 
Guadalquivir, so a still loftier chain divides 
the Guadalquivir from the sea. From Cape 
Trafalgar to the snowy peak of Granada, and 
from thence to Cape de Palos, a second line 
of mountains and passes protects the fertile 
country which extends from their bases along 
the shores of the Mediterranean, In this 
tract are situated the important towns of 
Marbella, Malaga, Motril, Almeria, Vera, and 
Carthagena, all upon the coast ; and along 
the line of mountains are Ronda, Antequera, 
Alhama, and Granada. It is in such coun- 
tries that genius finds infinite resources 
against superior numbers. It is in such coun^ 
tries that we must seek for the precious re- 
liques of ancient manners, and may hope to 
see them still preserved from the approaching 
tide of invasion. 

An accurate topographical survey should 
be made of this interesting Province while it 
is yet time. Such surveys ought indeed to 
be extended to every part of Spain which may 
yet be free. If there are not persons at- 
tached to our army there sufficiently qualified 
for the task, or who may be prevented by 



300 GENERAL REFLECTIONS, 

other duties, a party of intelligent men, amply 
provided, should be sent from England ex- 
pressly for the purpose. Such an expedition, 
with the most liberal allowance, and the most 
ample provision, would not cost so much as 
the building and equipment of the smallest 
sloop of war, whilst the advantages to be 
derived from it might be of the first import- 
ance. Provided with good topographical 
plans of the country, and the infinity of de- 
tails which would necessarily be connected 
with such an enquiry, the Government might 
sketch the outlines of a campaign on just and 
solid principles, on the immutable features of 
nature. Our armies would not then be wan- 
dering in the dark, opposed to an enemy, the 
excellence of whose topographical plans forms 
the great basis of his successes. But has such 
an idea ever been suggested ? or will it ever 
be adopted ? — I think not. 

Another plan which might be productive of 
infinite good, would be the formation of 
second or supplementary battalions of Spa- 
niards to be attached to the English regU 
ments. Instead of collecting masses of badly- 
disciplined peasants, and ignorant officers, 
wholly incapable of withstanding the shock, 
or opposing the movements of regular troops, 
the British force would thus in some,mea» 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS* 301 

sure be doubled, atid a fund created from 
which their losses might be constantly sup- 
plied. Each regiment having a supplemen- 
tary Spanish battalion attached to it, an emu* 
lation would necessarily arise to bring this 
auxiliary force as soon as possible into a state 
of discipline. Every officer, every serjeant, 
every private soldier of the British regiments, 
would be eager to communicate instruction 
as quickly as possible. The contest would 
be which should first form its supplementary 
battalion into a condition fit for service; 
whilst on the other hand, the honour of 
being allowed to act in the line with the Bri- 
tish troops should be held up as the greatest 
honour to the Spanish recruit. Let us not 
be told about Spanish pride, or the necessity 
of obtaining the consent of the Junta. The 
former is the very engine with which a skilful 
hand may move the whole nation ; and as to 
the latter, it is evident that England has only 
to ask in order to obtain the permission. 

Let us recapitulate. The Spaniards have 
committed many errors, but the English who 
blame them harshly have committed more. 
The Spaniards, deprived of their former go^ 
vernment, invaded by a powerful enemy, 
divided into provinces, differing in customs, 
and even in language, and bowed down by the 



302 GENSHAL REFLECTIONS* 



accumulated errors of ages, and a fatal super- 
stition, have at least some excuses to offer for 
their misconduct. But Britain, Queen of 
the Seas, secure from invasion, with an im- 
mense disposable force, and enabled delibe- 
rately and maturely to consider in what part 
of the globe Uie attack may be made to most 
advantage, and to fix as it were her own field 
of battle, puts in motion nearly a hundred 
thousand men, and sends them over to Wal- 
cheren. I say nothing of the other diversions 
of her force. This is the absurdity which 
combines, and exemplifies, and swallows up 
all the rest. The Spaniards are miserable, 
they are ignorant, they are blinded. Be it 
so : but what have they yet done so misera- 
ble, so ignorant, so blind, as to be compared 
with this ? Their defects are excuses for their 
errors: but Britain, great, enlightened, and 
free, where shall we seek for her apology ? 
So well however are the parts of our political 
machine adjusted, so admirably are its secret 
springs and movements understood, that the 
most disgraceful of all failures will produce no 
baneful effect upon the Government. — We 
shall have some speeches, some invectives, 
some investigations ; but the power of the 
planners of this miserable expedition will not 
even be shaken by its failure. Let us then 
talk of the Spaniards with a little more re- 



GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 303 

spec*/ or of ourselves with somewhat less* 
Let us correct our own glaring errors, before 
we indulge in such violent invectives against 
those of our Allies. 

Let it never be forgotten that we began 
the last war with Spain by an act of unex- 
ampled and perfidious aggression. In the 
middle of peace, four English frigates, fully 
prepared for battle, were sent to attack an 
equal number of Spanish vessels of the same 
force, but laden with silver, and encumbered 
with women and children. One of these 
vessels blew up ? and several hundreds of in* 
nocent victims were scattered into fragments 
in the air, or strewed along the waves. If a 
superior force had been sent, the Spaniards 
would have submitted without a blow ; but 
when a force exactly equal was opposed to 
them, Spanish honour demanded some re- 
sistance to be made. It appeared as if w r e 
were anxious that our booty should of na- 
cessity be stained with blood. Oh day of 
disgrace to the British name ! Act of cruelty 
and horror ! Meanwhile we slumber and doze 
©ver it, and think it already forgotten. But 
we deceive ourselves. Such a commence- 
ment of a war may well bear a comparison 
with the first treacheries of the French, 
against whom however, our language cannot 
supply us with expressions sufficiently harsh. 



304 



CONCLUSION* 



Thank Heaven, an opportunity has been 
afforded us, as far as possible, of wiping off the 
foul stain. As the cruel injury was perpe- 
trated in blood, so at Corunna and Talavera 
has it been atoned for by the blood of Eng- 
land's sons. Our brothers and our friends 
who fell there, were the necessary victims 
to the honour of our country, and let us hope 
that they may suffice ! Our future battles in 
Spain may be for glory and conquest ; the 
past have been only for reparation. 

To conclude. By our connection with 
Spain a new world is opened to us. Fifteen 
millions of Spanish colonists await the result 
of our measures. Britain forms at present, 
as it were, the important link which connects 
Europe with America, and possesses thereby 
an influence which nothing but her own mis- 
conduct can destroy. To follow wisely her 
own interests, she must consult the interests 
of both hemispheres, and of half mankind. 
It is only by viewing affairs on the most ex- 
tensive scale, and in their grand relations to 
each other, she can possibly make her way 
through the danger of this momentous aera. 
If we hear of any more Walcheren expedi- 
tions, we may conclude her to be on the 
brink of great and incalculable calamities, 

THE END. 

C. Baldwin, Printer, New Bridge Street, London* 



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